Abstract
Legumes have the potential to provide diverse ecosystem services, therefore, it is important to understand the quantitative and qualitative aspects of their development in different cropping systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the dendrometric, productive characteristics and nutritional value of Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth. in monocrop and a silvopastoral system with signal grass, in Brazil. The treatments were distributed under a randomized block design and consisted of M. caesalpiniifolia monocrop system and silvopasture (signal grass + M. caesalpiniifolia). Evaluations were carried out every 56 days for two years. The data were analyzed using repeated measures over time using SAS on demand (2021) and the treatment means were compared using PDIFF with Tukey's test (P < 0.05). There was no effect of cropping systems (P > 0.05) on plant height (~ 5.2 m). The greatest values for diameter at breast height (16.32 cm), basal diameter (20.54 cm), and dry matter production per plant (36 g DM plant− 1) were observed in the silvopasture system (P < 0.05). Forage mass was higher (P < 0.05) in the monocrop system compared to silvopasture (69 and 22 kg DM ha− 1, respectively) in the first year of evaluation. Total forage accumulation was greater in the monocrop system compared to silvopasture (383 vs. 116 kg DM ha− 1 year− 1) in the first year of evaluation. The nutritional value was not influenced (p < 0.05) by the cultivation systems in the first year of evaluation, however, higher content of CP (221 g kg− 1), ADF (449 g kg− 1), and IVDMD (383 g kg− 1) were observed in the rainy season, while the highest DM content (426 g kg− 1) occurred in the dry season. M. caesalpiniifolia showed good dendrometric characteristics in the silvopasture system. The silvopasture provides greater forage production per plant of M. caesalpiniifolia and better nutritional value of the forage than the legume monocrop.