Editorial

5 pages, 198 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Current Practice and Future Perspectives for Livestock Production and Industrial Ecology

by Ricardo F.M. Teixeira and Tiago Domingos

Sustainability 2019, 11(15), 4210; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11154210 - 04 Aug 2019

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2424

The year 2016 marked the 10-year anniversary of the publication of the “Livestock’s Long Shadow” FAO report [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Livestock Production and Industrial Ecology)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

26 pages, 1722 KiB

Open AccessArticle

“BalSim”: A Carbon, Nitrogen and Greenhouse Gas Mass Balance Model for Pastures

by Ricardo F.M. Teixeira, Lúcia Barão, Tiago G. Morais and Tiago Domingos

Sustainability 2019, 11(1), 53; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11010053 - 21 Dec 2018

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4097

Abstract

Animal production systems are increasingly required to co-produce meat products and other ecosystem services. Sown biodiverse pastures (SBP) were developed in Portugal as an improvement over semi-natural pastures (SNP). SBP increase yields and animal intake during grazing, are substantial carbon sinks, and the [...] Read more.

Animal production systems are increasingly required to co-produce meat products and other ecosystem services. Sown biodiverse pastures (SBP) were developed in Portugal as an improvement over semi-natural pastures (SNP). SBP increase yields and animal intake during grazing, are substantial carbon sinks, and the abundance of legumes in the mixtures provides plants with a biological source of nitrogen. However, the data available and the data demands of most models make integrated modelling of these effects difficult. Here, we developed “BalSim”, a mass balance approach for the estimation of carbon and nitrogen flows and the direct greenhouse gas (GHG) balance of the two production systems. Results show that, on average, the on-farm GHG balance is −2.6 and 0.8 t CO₂e/ha.yr for SBP and SNP, respectively. Ignoring the effects of carbon sequestration, and taking into account only non-CO₂ emissions, the systems are responsible for 17.0 and 16.3 kg CO₂e/kg live weight.yr. The annual analysis showed that non-CO₂ emissions were highest in a drought year due to decreased yield and stocking rate. We also showed through scenario analysis that matching the grazing level to the yield is crucial to minimize emissions and ensure reduced feed supplementation while maintaining high soil carbon stocks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Livestock Production and Industrial Ecology)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 1868 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Can Agriculture Balance Its Energy Consumption and Continue to Produce Food? A Framework for Assessing Energy Neutrality Applied to French Agriculture

by Souhil Harchaoui and Petros Chatzimpiros

Sustainability 2018, 10(12), 4624; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10124624 - 06 Dec 2018

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 6829

Abstract

In the context of energy transition, agriculture is facing a double challenge, which is to reduce its fossil fuel dependency and provide—in addition to food—bioenergy to society for substitution to fossil fuels. The feasibility of this challenge depends on whether agriculture can achieve [...] Read more.

In the context of energy transition, agriculture is facing a double challenge, which is to reduce its fossil fuel dependency and provide—in addition to food—bioenergy to society for substitution to fossil fuels. The feasibility of this challenge depends on whether agriculture can achieve energy neutrality, meaning to balance its consumption of external energy by energy recovery from internal sources. Livestock feed is a major determinant in this balance. We use France as a demonstration case of the changing role of feed in the long-term agricultural energy metabolism and the challenge of reaching energy neutrality. Results show that current agriculture is structurally energy deficient to such an extent that its functional energy requirements almost equal its final produce. The energy recovery potential from crop residues and manure could at best cover the primary biomass equivalent of the external energy inputs to agriculture. Only a suppression of feed from cropland combined with very high energy recovery from agricultural residues could allow achieving energy neutrality and making agriculture a net energy source to society. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Livestock Production and Industrial Ecology)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 1589 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterizing Livestock Production in Portuguese Sown Rainfed Grasslands: Applying the Inverse Approach to a Process-Based Model

by Tiago G. Morais, Ricardo F. M. Teixeira, Nuno R. Rodrigues and Tiago Domingos

Sustainability 2018, 10(12), 4437; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10124437 - 27 Nov 2018

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3350

Abstract

Grasslands are a crucial resource that supports animal grazing and provides other ecosystem services. We estimated the main properties of Portuguese sown biodiverse permanent pastures rich in legumes (SBP) starting from measured data for soil organic carbon (SOC) and using the Rothamsted Carbon [...] Read more.

Grasslands are a crucial resource that supports animal grazing and provides other ecosystem services. We estimated the main properties of Portuguese sown biodiverse permanent pastures rich in legumes (SBP) starting from measured data for soil organic carbon (SOC) and using the Rothamsted Carbon Model. Starting from a dataset of SOC, aboveground production (AGP) and stocking rates (SR) in SBP, we used an inverse approach to estimate root to shoot (RS) ratios, livestock dung (LD), livestock intake (LI) and the ratio between easily decomposable and resistant plant material. Results for the best fit show that AGP and belowground productivity is approximately the same (RS is equal to 0.96). Animals consume 61% of the AGP, which is within the acceptable range of protein and energy intake. Carbon inputs from dung are also within the range found in the literature (1.53 t C/livestock unit). Inputs from litter are equally distributed between decomposable and resistant material. We applied these parameters in RothC for a dataset from different sites that only comprises SOC to calculate AGP and SR. AGP and SR were consistently lower in this case, because these pastures did not receive adequate technical support. These results highlight the mechanisms for carbon sequestration in SBP. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Livestock Production and Industrial Ecology)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

23 pages, 1212 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effects on Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Ecological Intensification of Meat Production with Rainfed Sown Biodiverse Pastures

by Tiago G. Morais, Ricardo F. M. Teixeira and Tiago Domingos

Sustainability 2018, 10(11), 4184; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10114184 - 13 Nov 2018

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3972

Abstract

Feed production is an important contributor to the environmental impacts caused by livestock production. In Portugal, non-dairy cattle are commonly fed with a mixture of grazing and forages/concentrate feed. Sown biodiverse permanent pastures rich in legumes (SBP) were introduced to provide quality animal [...] Read more.

Feed production is an important contributor to the environmental impacts caused by livestock production. In Portugal, non-dairy cattle are commonly fed with a mixture of grazing and forages/concentrate feed. Sown biodiverse permanent pastures rich in legumes (SBP) were introduced to provide quality animal feed and offset concentrate consumption. SBP also sequester large amounts of carbon in soils. Here, we used a comparative life cycle assessment approach to test the substitution of concentrate through installation of high-yield SBP. Using field data for the Alentejo region in Portugal, we compare the global warming potential of a baseline scenario where cattle is fed in low-yield, semi-natural pastures supplemented with feeds that vary in the ratio of silage to concentrate, and a second scenario where the feed is substituted with high-yield SBP. Although SBP use more fertilizers and machinery, this replacement avoids the emission of about 3 t CO₂eq/ha even after SBP stop sequestering carbon. Using crude fiber to establish the equivalence between scenarios leads to higher avoided impact, owing to the fact that the fiber content of SBP is also higher. SBP can avoid 25% emissions from beef production per kg of live animal weight. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Livestock Production and Industrial Ecology)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 777 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Practical Comparison of Regionalized Land Use and Biodiversity Life Cycle Impact Assessment Models Using Livestock Production as a Case Study

by Ricardo F. M. Teixeira, Tiago G. Morais and Tiago Domingos

Sustainability 2018, 10(11), 4089; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10114089 - 07 Nov 2018

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4721

Abstract

Land use is increasingly important for impact assessment in life cycle assessment (LCA). Its impacts on biodiversity and provision of ecosystem services are crucial to depict the environmental performance of products. Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) models are commonly selected by consensus through [...] Read more.

Land use is increasingly important for impact assessment in life cycle assessment (LCA). Its impacts on biodiversity and provision of ecosystem services are crucial to depict the environmental performance of products. Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) models are commonly selected by consensus through processes frequently misinformed by the absence of practical application studies. Here, we performed an assessment of all free and peer-reviewed LCIA models for land use. We started with spatial correlation analysis at the country scale. Models that use the same indicators are strongly correlated, suggesting that regionalization is no longer a decisive issue in model selection. We applied these models in a case study for cattle production where feeds are replaced by sown biodiverse pastures (SBP). We tested (1) a non-regionalized inventory from an LCA database and, (2) a regionalized inventory that explicit considered the locations of land occupation and transformation. We found the same qualitative result: the installation of SBP avoids impacts due to feed substitution. Each hectare of SBP installed avoids the occupation of 0.5 hectares per year for feed ingredient production. Adding inventory regionalization for 70% of land use flows leads to a change of 15% in results, suggesting limited spatial differentiation between country-level characterization factors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Livestock Production and Industrial Ecology)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

22 pages, 1071 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Carbon Footprint of Milk from Pasture-Based Dairy Farms in Azores, Portugal

by Tiago G. Morais, Ricardo F. M. Teixeira, Nuno R. Rodrigues and Tiago Domingos

Sustainability 2018, 10(10), 3658; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10103658 - 12 Oct 2018

Cited by 33 | Viewed by 7660

Abstract

The dairy sector is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Pasture-based dairy production is sometimes credited as environmentally friendlier but is less studied than more intensive production systems. Here we characterize and calculate the carbon footprint (CF), using life cycle assessment, of [...] Read more.

The dairy sector is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Pasture-based dairy production is sometimes credited as environmentally friendlier but is less studied than more intensive production systems. Here we characterize and calculate the carbon footprint (CF), using life cycle assessment, of the “Vacas Felizes” pasture-based milk production system, in the Azores archipelago. Impacts were determined for multiple functional units: mass, energy and nutritional content, farm, area and animal. We performed multivariate analysis to assess the contribution of production parameters to the CF. Finally, we performed a literature review to compare these results with other production systems. Results show that emissions from enteric fermentation, concentrated feed production and (organic and mineral) fertilizer application are the three main sources of impact. Milk yield is a key production feature for the determination of emissions. The average CF is 0.83 kg CO₂/kg raw milk. At each milk yield level, the farms are approximately homogeneous. Compared with other studies, “Vacas Felizes” milk has a lower CF than 80 (out of 84) published CFs and on average it is approximately 32% lower. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Livestock Production and Industrial Ecology)

► Show Figures

Graphical abstract

26 pages, 5043 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Applying Data Mining to China’s Swine Farming Industry: A Compromise Perspective of Economic, Environmental and Overall Performances

by Diejun Huang, Qiuzhuo Ma, Liangyu Feng, Xiaowei Wen and Hua Li

Sustainability 2018, 10(7), 2374; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072374 - 09 Jul 2018

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3226

Abstract

The economic and environmental performances of the swine farming industry have always resulted in heated discussions in developing countries. Exploring the relationship between these features and the producers’ overall performance is the focus of this paper. For constructing multi-objective features that include the [...] Read more.

The economic and environmental performances of the swine farming industry have always resulted in heated discussions in developing countries. Exploring the relationship between these features and the producers’ overall performance is the focus of this paper. For constructing multi-objective features that include the above features, a compromise approach for optimization is taken into consideration. For classifying the overall performance into different levels and detecting the effect of economic and environmental features on such features, an iteration scheme is developed in which the overall performance is treated as a target label. By neglecting this target label, a k-means clustering method is then used to help predict the producer’s overall performance given their economic and environmental features. In data pre-processing, correlation analysis for feature selection shows that the producer’s pollution emission and received regulation intensity largely affect its overall performance, while profit is found to be negatively correlated with pollution emission as regulation intensity is neglected. The classification result derived from the Silhouette Coefficient shows that the data set can be efficiently split into different groups in terms of the producer’s overall performance. The average distance between the objects in the low-performance group is larger than that of the high-performance group. The threshold position between the two groups is found to be largely dependent on the features of pollution emission and regulation intensity. The clustering result obtained by the k-means method shows good effectiveness and efficiency in separating the objects into different groups based on various features other than the overall performance. In 2- and 3-cluster cases, the result also shows evidence of the impact of economic and environmental features on the clustering result. The cross-validation analysis under a set of randomly chosen splitting points shows an increasing out-of-sample prediction quality with increases in training sample size. As one of the by-products of this paper, the geographical distribution in the clustering result is found partially consistent with the official report from Chinas central government regarding advantageous regions within the industry. In addition to current research, the ease of using the knowledge obtained in this paper for transfer learning is discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Livestock Production and Industrial Ecology)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 3990 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimization Models to Improve Estimations and Reduce Nitrogen Excretion from Livestock Production

by Marina Segura, Concepción Maroto, Concepción Ginestar and Baldomero Segura

Sustainability 2018, 10(7), 2362; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072362 - 07 Jul 2018

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3017

Abstract

Sustainable food production plays a key role at different levels, such as countries, producers and consumers worldwide. Commitments of countries to reducing environmental impact include livestock production due to its contribution to greenhouse gases and other pollutants. The purpose of this research is [...] Read more.

Sustainable food production plays a key role at different levels, such as countries, producers and consumers worldwide. Commitments of countries to reducing environmental impact include livestock production due to its contribution to greenhouse gases and other pollutants. The purpose of this research is to design and validate optimization models to improve assessments of emissions from livestock. As feed consumed is the principal source of the emissions, we have developed an aggregated optimization model to assess feed intake and therefore emissions at country level, by using the best technical and statistical data. This model provides a common framework to assess livestock emissions for all countries and in particular in the European Union. The model has been validated in the Spanish intensive pig sector, which is the principal producer by head count of the European Union. Results from several scenarios, which differ in animal protein and energy needs, have been compared to those from other methodologies and the Spanish National Inventory System, which assesses greenhouse gases and pollutants annually. This model can be adapted to other species, and applied to other countries and at farm level. Finally, this model is a useful tool to evaluate the effects on the emissions related to changes in animal nutrition, price and supply of raw materials, as well as agricultural and environmental policies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Livestock Production and Industrial Ecology)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Livestock Production and Industrial Ecology

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (9 papers)

Editorial

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI