INTEGRATION OF BIOCLIMATIC INDICES FOR ASSESSING THE THERMAL COMFORT OF SWINE IN DIFFERENT HOUSING SYSTEMS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66104/nk7ss794Keywords:
THI; BGHI; Thermal comfort.Abstract
Contemporary swine production faces severe challenges associated with heat stress, since genetic improvement contributes to lineages tailored for lean meat deposition, elevating the animals' internal heat production, whose energy dissipation is limited by their precarious thermoregulatory system. The objective was to analyze the integration and complementarity of bioclimatic indices applied in determining the thermal comfort of swine in different production systems. The methodology was based on a systematic literature review of scientific articles published between 2016 and 2026, indexed in the Scopus database, using the search string (sow OR sows OR swine) AND ("thermal comfort" OR "heat stress") AND (THI OR BGHI) AND housing. Initially, 135 articles were identified which, after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria grounded in the scope of animal ambience and precision livestock farming, resulted in a sample of 24 articles focused on the direct comparison of environmental metrics. The obtained results evidenced that the determination of thermal comfort and the typology of barn construction are indissociable phenomena. Data confrontation demonstrated that the isolated Temperature-Humidity Index (THI/ITU) presents diagnostic blind spots by disregarding the radiant heat load from roofs and wind speed. Conversely, combined use with the Black Globe Humidity Index (BGHI/ITGU) mitigates these flaws by monitoring the radiant pathway, being essential to guide the activation of cooling systems in open facilities and refine automation algorithms in climate-controlled barns under negative pressure. It is concluded that a multivariate approach is indispensable for a reliable microclimatic diagnosis, highlighting the urgent need for regional calibration of classic mathematical thresholds for the reality of low latitudes, such as the Amazonian equatorial ecosystem.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Rodrigo Henrique Risso Aires Alves, Wilson Ramos Martins, Estephanie Guimarães Araújo, Carlos Barbosa Pessoa, Ludimila Souza Oliveira, Mariana Arinana Canuto Pereira, Miquele Araújo dos Santos, André Guimarães Colares, Diana Lima da Silva
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