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Quantification and Mitigation Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock Production Systems

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal System and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2019) | Viewed by 72940

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Mizeck Chagunda

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Guest Editor
Department of Animal Breeding and Husbandry in the Tropics and Subtropics, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
Interests: animal breeding and genetics; proxy phenotypes; genotype x environment interaction; greenhouse gas measurements from ruminant systems, predictive modelling in livestock systems
Dr. Peter Løvendahl

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, DK 8830 Tjele, Denmark
Interests: quantitative hereditary variation, improved phenotyping, animal fertility, metabolism, behavior, production and efficiency, including methane emissions, and genetic variation in metagenome

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the evidence of change in the global climate system has been unequivocal and climate change has become a growing international concern. It is well-established that the release of greenhouse gases (GHG) predominantly derived from human activities is a major contributing factor to most of the observed climate change. The global livestock sector, particularly ruminants, contributes approximately 18% of total anthropogenic GHG emissions (Steinfeld et al., 2006). GHG emissions arise from processes both on and off the farm and include methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Different initiatives are being taken to reduce GHG emissions. For example, the European Union has committed itself to reduce its GHG emissions by 20% by the year 2020 relative to 1990 levels. Different countries and group of countries have different targets. However, it is important to undertake initiatives that can reduce GHG emissions without compromising livestock productivity. Finding a balance between improving productivity and reducing GHG in livestock systems is crucial in order to maintain sustainability in the future.

Efficient agricultural practices are key to reducing greenhouse gases emissions. These practices can be achieved through several aspects of livestock production. For example, livestock genetic improvement, changes in feeding strategies, nutritional improvement, disease control and animal health improvement, improvement in animal welfare and general husbandry. However, care ought to be taken, as a focus on reducing emissions in one particular part of a system may result in an inherent increase elsewhere in the system.

Technical solutions to reduce GHG emissions have been, and continue to be, extensively researched. Globally, different research groups are investigating different components in this regard on an ongoing basis. Although some of this information has been previously reported elsewhere, new knowledge is being generated and more effective strategies are being developed.

This Special Issue seeks contributions including reviews and original research in two broad but related areas: 1) measurement techniques and protocols, use of proxies, methodological opportunities and challenges including uncertainty in quantification of GHG emissions from livestock systems; and 2) methods, techniques, and strategies for reducing GHG emissions from livestock production systems.

Prof. Dr. Mizeck Chagunda
Dr. Peter Løvendahl
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Greenhouse gas emissions
  • climate change
  • reduction strategies
  • livestock
  • productivity
  • sustainability

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 1838 KiB  
Article
Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Dairy Goat Farming Systems: Abatement Potential and Cost
by Alexandra Sintori, Irene Tzouramani and Angelos Liontakis
Animals 2019, 9(11), 945; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9110945 - 10 Nov 2019
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 6470
Abstract
Dairy goat farming is an important agricultural activity in the Mediterranean region. In Greece the activity offers occupation and income to thousands of families mainly located in mountainous and semi-mountainous areas of the country where it utilizes low productivity pastures and shrub lands. [...] Read more.
Dairy goat farming is an important agricultural activity in the Mediterranean region. In Greece the activity offers occupation and income to thousands of families mainly located in mountainous and semi-mountainous areas of the country where it utilizes low productivity pastures and shrub lands. Furthermore, goats are more resilient to climate changes compared to other species, and are often characterized as ideal for keeping in drought areas. However, there is still limited evidence on total greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted from goat farms and their mitigation potential. In this context, this study aims to estimate GHG emissions of goat farms in Greece and explore their abatement options using an economic optimization model. Three case studies are explored i.e., an extensive, a semi-intensive and an intensive goat farm that correspond to the main goat production systems identified in Greece. The analysis aims to assess total GHGs as well as the impact of abatement on the structures, gross margins and labor inputs of the farms under investigation. The issue of the marginal abatement cost is also addressed. The results indicate that the extensive farm causes higher emissions/kg of milk produced (4.08 kg CO2-eq) compared to the semi-intensive and intensive farms (2.04 kg and 1.82 kg of CO2-equivelants, respectively). The results also emphasize the higher marginal abatement cost of the intensive farm. In all farm types, abatement is achieved primarily through the reduction of the livestock capital and secondarily by other appropriate farming practices, like substitution of purchased feed with homegrown feed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quantification and Mitigation Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock Production Systems)
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12 pages, 262 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Methods to Measure Methane for Use in Genetic Evaluation of Dairy Cattle
by Philip C. Garnsworthy, Gareth F. Difford, Matthew J. Bell, Ali R. Bayat, Pekka Huhtanen, Björn Kuhla, Jan Lassen, Nico Peiren, Marcin Pszczola, Diana. Sorg, Marleen H.P.W. Visker and Tianhai Yan
Animals 2019, 9(10), 837; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9100837 - 21 Oct 2019
Cited by 71 | Viewed by 10229
Abstract
Partners in Expert Working Group WG2 of the COST Action METHAGENE have used several methods for measuring methane output by individual dairy cattle under various environmental conditions. Methods included respiration chambers, the sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) tracer technique, breath sampling during milking [...] Read more.
Partners in Expert Working Group WG2 of the COST Action METHAGENE have used several methods for measuring methane output by individual dairy cattle under various environmental conditions. Methods included respiration chambers, the sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) tracer technique, breath sampling during milking or feeding, the GreenFeed system, and the laser methane detector. The aim of the current study was to review and compare the suitability of methods for large-scale measurements of methane output by individual animals, which may be combined with other databases for genetic evaluations. Accuracy, precision and correlation between methods were assessed. Accuracy and precision are important, but data from different sources can be weighted or adjusted when combined if they are suitably correlated with the ‘true’ value. All methods showed high correlations with respiration chambers. Comparisons among alternative methods generally had lower correlations than comparisons with respiration chambers, despite higher numbers of animals and in most cases simultaneous repeated measures per cow per method. Lower correlations could be due to increased variability and imprecision of alternative methods, or maybe different aspects of methane emission are captured using different methods. Results confirm that there is sufficient correlation between methods for measurements from all methods to be combined for international genetic studies and provide a much-needed framework for comparing genetic correlations between methods should these become available. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quantification and Mitigation Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock Production Systems)
14 pages, 510 KiB  
Article
Effects of Dietary Forage Proportion on Feed Intake, Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, and Enteric Methane Emissions of Holstein Heifers at Various Growth Stages
by Lifeng Dong, Binchang Li and Qiyu Diao
Animals 2019, 9(10), 725; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9100725 - 26 Sep 2019
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 4568
Abstract
Enteric methane (CH4) emissions from young ruminants contribute to a substantial proportion of atmospheric CH4 accumulation. Development of emission inventory and mitigation approaches needs accurate estimation of individual emission from animals under various physiological conditions and production systems. This research [...] Read more.
Enteric methane (CH4) emissions from young ruminants contribute to a substantial proportion of atmospheric CH4 accumulation. Development of emission inventory and mitigation approaches needs accurate estimation of individual emission from animals under various physiological conditions and production systems. This research investigated the effect of different dietary concentrate contents on feed intake, growth performance, nutrient digestibility and CH4 emissions of heifers at various stages, and also developed linear or non-linear prediction equations using data measured by sulphur hexafluoride tracer technique. Increasing dietary concentrate contents increased feed intake and growth rate, enhanced nutrient digestibility, and reduced enteric CH4 emissions. Heifers at the age of 9, 12, and 15 months with an average weight of 267.7, 342.1, and 418.6 kg produced 105.2, 137.4, and 209.4 g/day of CH4, and have an average value of CH4 energy per gross energy intake (Ym) 0.054, 0.064, 0.0667, respectively. Equations relating CH4 emission values with animal and feed characteristics were developed with high determination coefficients for heifers at different growth stages. Dietary concentrate contents had significant influence on overall performance of heifers. These data can be used to develop regional or national emission inventories and mitigation approaches for heifers under various production regimes in China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quantification and Mitigation Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock Production Systems)
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9 pages, 519 KiB  
Article
Comparison Between Non-Invasive Methane Measurement Techniques in Cattle
by Jagoba Rey, Raquel Atxaerandio, Roberto Ruiz, Eva Ugarte, Oscar González-Recio, Aser Garcia-Rodriguez and Idoia Goiri
Animals 2019, 9(8), 563; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9080563 - 15 Aug 2019
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 5070
Abstract
The aim of this trial was to study the agreement between the non-dispersive infrared methane analyzer (NDIR) method and the hand held laser methane detector (LMD). Methane (CH4) was measured simultaneously with the two devices totaling 164 paired measurements. The repeatability [...] Read more.
The aim of this trial was to study the agreement between the non-dispersive infrared methane analyzer (NDIR) method and the hand held laser methane detector (LMD). Methane (CH4) was measured simultaneously with the two devices totaling 164 paired measurements. The repeatability of the CH4 concentration was greater with the NDIR (0.42) than for the LMD (0.23). However, for the number of peaks, repeatability of the LMD was greater (0.20 vs. 0.14, respectively). Correlation was moderately high and positive for CH4 concentration (0.73 and 0.74, respectively) and number of peaks (0.72 and 0.72, respectively), and the repeated measures correlation and the individual-level correlation were high (0.98 and 0.94, respectively). A moderate concordance correlation coefficient was observed for the CH4 concentration (0.62) and for the number of peaks (0.66). A moderate-high coefficient of individual agreement for the CH4 concentration (0.83) and the number of peaks (0.77) were observed. However, CH4 concentrations population means and all variance components differed between instruments. In conclusion, methane concentration measurements obtained by means of NDIR and LMD cannot be used interchangeably. The joint use of both methods could be considered for genetic selection purposes or for mitigation strategies only if sources of disagreement, which result in different between-subject and within-subject variabilities, are identified and corrected for. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quantification and Mitigation Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock Production Systems)
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12 pages, 584 KiB  
Article
Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Moringa Oleifera on the Production Performance and Fecal Methanogenic Community of Lactating Dairy Cows
by Lifeng Dong, Tingting Zhang and Qiyu Diao
Animals 2019, 9(5), 262; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9050262 - 22 May 2019
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 5393
Abstract
Development of alternative forage resources is of great importance to provide necessary nutrients and minimize greenhouse gas emissions in ruminant production. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of dietary supplementation of Moringa oleifera on the production performance and fecal [...] Read more.
Development of alternative forage resources is of great importance to provide necessary nutrients and minimize greenhouse gas emissions in ruminant production. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of dietary supplementation of Moringa oleifera on the production performance and fecal methanogenic community in dairy cows using methyl-coenzyme M reductase α-subunit gene. Sixty-four cows were allocated to one of four treatments: basal diet without M. oleifera (control) or low (3% w/w, M3), medium (6%, M6), or high (9%, M9) supplementation with M. oleifera. This study demonstrated that different supplementation levels of Moringa oleifera in the diet achieved similar feed intake and milk production, but adding 6% of Moringa oleifera improved milk fat content. Two families, two phyla, three genera, and three species in total were identified among the four treatments. The fecal archaeal community in the control treatment was predominated by Methanobrevibacter (39.1% of the total sequence reads) followed by Methanosphaera and Methanocorpusculum at the genus level. The increased abundance of the Methanosphaera genus and Methanosphaera sp. ISO3-F5 species was induced by secondary metabolites of Moringa oleifera in the diet. Results indicated that Moringa oleifera supplementation not only improved dairy product quality but could also potentially reduce methane emissions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quantification and Mitigation Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock Production Systems)
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11 pages, 250 KiB  
Article
Effects of Tea Saponin Supplementation on Nutrient Digestibility, Methanogenesis, and Ruminal Microbial Flora in Dorper Crossbred Ewe
by Yunlong Liu, Tao Ma, Dandan Chen, Naifeng Zhang, Bingwen Si, Kaidong Deng, Yan Tu and Qiyu Diao
Animals 2019, 9(1), 29; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9010029 - 21 Jan 2019
Cited by 47 | Viewed by 5527
Abstract
Two experiments were conducted using Dorper × thin-tailed Han crossbred ewes. In experiment 1, eighteen ewes were randomly assigned to two dietary treatments (a basal diet, or the same basal diet supplemented with 2.0 g tea saponin (TS)/head/day) to investigate the effects of [...] Read more.
Two experiments were conducted using Dorper × thin-tailed Han crossbred ewes. In experiment 1, eighteen ewes were randomly assigned to two dietary treatments (a basal diet, or the same basal diet supplemented with 2.0 g tea saponin (TS)/head/day) to investigate the effects of TS supplementation on nutrient digestibility and methane emissions. In experiment 2, six ewes with ruminal cannulae were assigned to the same two dietary treatments as in experiment 1 to investigate the effects of TS supplementation on rumen fermentation and microbial flora. TS supplementation increased the apparent digestibility of organic matter (OM) (p = 0.001), nitrogen (N) (p = 0.036), neutral detergent fibre (NDF) (p = 0.001), and acid detergent fibre (ADF) (p < 0.001). Urinary N (p = 0.001) and fecal N (p = 0.036) output were reduced, and N retention (p = 0.001) and nitrogen retention/nitrogen intake (p = 0.001) were increased. Supplementary TS did not decrease absolute methane emissions (p = 0.519) but decreased methane emissions scaled to metabolic bodyweight by 8.80% (p = 0.006). Ammonia levels decreased (p < 0.001) and total volatile fatty acid levels increased (p = 0.018) in response to TS supplementation. The molar proportion of propionate increased (p = 0.007), whereas the acetate:propionate ratio decreased (p = 0.035). Supplementation with TS increased the population of Fibrobacter succinogenes (p = 0.019), but the population of protozoans tended to decrease (p = 0.054). Supplementation with TS effectively enhanced the apparent digestibility of OM, N, NDF, and ADF, and decreased methane emissions scaled to metabolic bodyweight. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quantification and Mitigation Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock Production Systems)
19 pages, 2147 KiB  
Article
Effect of Encapsulated Nitrate and Microencapsulated Blend of Essential Oils on Growth Performance and Methane Emissions from Beef Steers Fed Backgrounding Diets
by Aklilu W. Alemu, Atmir Romero-Pérez, Rafael C. Araujo and Karen A. Beauchemin
Animals 2019, 9(1), 21; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9010021 - 10 Jan 2019
Cited by 36 | Viewed by 5819
Abstract
A long-term study (112 days) was conducted to examine the effect of feeding encapsulated nitrate (NO3−), microencapsulated blend of essential oils (EO), and their combination on growth performance, feeding behavior, and enteric methane (CH4) emissions of beef cattle. [...] Read more.
A long-term study (112 days) was conducted to examine the effect of feeding encapsulated nitrate (NO3−), microencapsulated blend of essential oils (EO), and their combination on growth performance, feeding behavior, and enteric methane (CH4) emissions of beef cattle. A total of 88 crossbred steers were purchased and assigned to one of four treatments: (i) control, backgrounding high-forage diet supplemented with urea (1.17% in dietary DM); (ii) encapsulated NO3− (EN), control diet supplemented with 2.5% encapsulated NO3− as a replacement for urea (1.785% NO3− in the dietary DM); (iii) microencapsulated blend of EO (MBEO), control diet supplemented with 150 mg/kg DM of microencapsulated blend of EO and pepper extract; and (iv) EN + MBEO, control diet supplemented with EN and MBEO. There was no interaction (p ≥ 0.080) between EN and MBEO on average dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG), gain to feed ratio (G:F), feeding behavior, and CH4 emission (using GreenFeed system), implying independent effects of feeding EN and MBEO. Feeding MBEO increased CH4 production (165.0 versus 183.2 g/day; p = 0.005) and yield (18.9 versus 21.4 g/kg DMI; p = 0.0002) but had no effect (p ≥ 0.479) on average DMI, ADG, G:F, and feeding behavior. However, feeding EN had no effect on ADG and G:F (p ≥ 0.119) but reduced DMI (8.9 versus 8.4 kg/day; p = 0.003) and CH4 yield (21.5 versus 18.7 g/kg DMI; p < 0.001). Feeding EN slowed (p = 0.001) the feeding rate (g of DM/min) and increased (p = 0.002) meal frequency (events/day). Our results demonstrate that supplementing diets with a blend of EO did not lower CH4 emissions and there were no advantages of feeding MBEO with EN. Inclusion of EN as a replacement for urea reduced CH4 emissions but had no positive impact on animal performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quantification and Mitigation Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock Production Systems)
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20 pages, 1230 KiB  
Article
The Effects of System Changes in Grazed Dairy Farmlet Trials on Greenhouse Gas Emissions
by Tony Van der Weerden, Pierre Beukes, Cecile De Klein, Kathryn Hutchinson, Lydia Farrell, Tinke Stormink, Alvaro Romera, Dawn Dalley, Ross Monaghan, David Chapman, Kevin Macdonald and Robyn Dynes
Animals 2018, 8(12), 234; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani8120234 - 7 Dec 2018
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 5681
Abstract
An important challenge facing the New Zealand (NZ) dairy industry is development of production systems that can maintain or increase production and profitability, while reducing impacts on receiving environments including water and air. Using research ‘farmlets’ in Waikato, Canterbury, and Otago (32–200 animals [...] Read more.
An important challenge facing the New Zealand (NZ) dairy industry is development of production systems that can maintain or increase production and profitability, while reducing impacts on receiving environments including water and air. Using research ‘farmlets’ in Waikato, Canterbury, and Otago (32–200 animals per herd), we assessed if system changes aimed at reducing nitrate leaching can also reduce total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (methane and nitrous oxide) and emissions intensity (kg GHG per unit of product) by comparing current and potential ‘improved’ dairy systems. Annual average GHG emissions for each system were estimated for three or four years using calculations based on the New Zealand Agricultural Inventory Methodology, but included key farmlet-specific emission factors determined from regional experiments. Total annual GHG footprints ranged between 10,800 kg and 20,600 kg CO2e/ha, with emissions strongly related to the amount of feed eaten. Methane (CH4) represented 75% to 84% of the total GHG footprint across all modelled systems, with enteric CH4 from lactating cows grazing pasture being the major source. Excreta deposition onto paddocks was the largest source of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, representing 7–12% of the total GHG footprint for all systems. When total emissions were represented on an intensity basis, ‘improved’ systems are predicted to generally result in lower emissions intensity. The ‘improved’ systems had lower GHG footprints than the ‘current’ system, except for one of the ‘improved’ systems in Canterbury, which had a higher stocking rate. The lower feed supplies and associated lower stocking rates of the ‘improved’ systems were the key drivers of lower total GHG emissions in all three regions. ‘Improved’ systems designed to reduced N leaching generally also reduced GHG emissions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quantification and Mitigation Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock Production Systems)
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Review

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18 pages, 633 KiB  
Review
Methane Emissions and the Use of Desmanthus in Beef Cattle Production in Northern Australia
by Bénédicte Suybeng, Edward Charmley, Christopher P. Gardiner, Bunmi S. Malau-Aduli and Aduli E. O. Malau-Aduli
Animals 2019, 9(8), 542; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9080542 - 9 Aug 2019
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 7323
Abstract
The Australian beef industry is a major contributor to the economy with an estimated annual revenue generation of over seven billion dollars. The tropical state of Queensland accounted for 48% of Australian beef and veal production in 2018. As the third biggest beef [...] Read more.
The Australian beef industry is a major contributor to the economy with an estimated annual revenue generation of over seven billion dollars. The tropical state of Queensland accounted for 48% of Australian beef and veal production in 2018. As the third biggest beef exporter in the world, Australia supplies 3% of the world’s beef exports and its agricultural sector accounts for an estimated 13.2% of its total greenhouse gas emissions. About 71% of total agricultural emissions are in the form of methane and nitrous oxide. In this review, an overview of the carbon footprint of the beef cattle production system in northern Australia is presented, with emphasis on the mitigation of greenhouse gases. The review also focuses on the tropical legume, Desmanthus, one of the more promising nutritional supplements for methane abatement and improvement of animal growth performance. Among the review’s findings is the need to select environmentally well-adapted and vigorous tropical legumes containing tannins that can persistently survive under the harsh northern Australian conditions for driving animal performance, improving meat quality and reducing methane emissions. The paper argues that the use of appropriate legumes such as Desmanthus, is a natural and preferred alternative to the use of chemicals for the abatement of methane emanating from tropical beef cattle production systems. It also highlights current gaps in knowledge and new research opportunities for in vivo studies on the impact of Desmanthus on methane emissions of supplemented tropical beef cattle. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quantification and Mitigation Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock Production Systems)
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17 pages, 2427 KiB  
Review
Climate Change and Goat Production: Enteric Methane Emission and Its Mitigation
by Pratap Pragna, Surinder S. Chauhan, Veerasamy Sejian, Brian J. Leury and Frank R. Dunshea
Animals 2018, 8(12), 235; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani8120235 - 7 Dec 2018
Cited by 39 | Viewed by 15386
Abstract
The ability of an animal to cope and adapt itself to the changing climate virtually depends on the function of rumen and rumen inhabitants such as bacteria, protozoa, fungi, virus and archaea. Elevated ambient temperature during the summer months can have a significant [...] Read more.
The ability of an animal to cope and adapt itself to the changing climate virtually depends on the function of rumen and rumen inhabitants such as bacteria, protozoa, fungi, virus and archaea. Elevated ambient temperature during the summer months can have a significant influence on the basic physiology of the rumen, thereby affecting the nutritional status of the animals. Rumen volatile fatty acid (VFA) production decreases under conditions of extreme heat. Growing recent evidence suggests there are genetic variations among breeds of goats in the impact of heat stress on rumen fermentation pattern and VFA production. Most of the effects of heat stress on rumen fermentation and enteric methane (CH4) emission are attributed to differences in the rumen microbial population. Heat stress-induced rumen function impairment is mainly associated with an increase in Streptococcus genus bacteria and with a decrease in the bacteria of Fibrobactor genus. Apart from its major role in global warming and greenhouse effect, enteric CH4 is also considered as a dietary energy loss in goats. These effects warrant mitigating against CH4 production to ensure optimum economic return from goat farming as well as to reduce the impact on global warming as CH4 is one of the more potent greenhouse gases (GHG). The various strategies that can be implemented to mitigate enteric CH4 emission include nutritional interventions, different management strategies and applying advanced biotechnological tools to find solution to reduce CH4 production. Through these advanced technologies, it is possible to identify genetically superior animals with less CH4 production per unit feed intake. These efforts can help the farming community to sustain goat production in the changing climate scenario. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quantification and Mitigation Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock Production Systems)
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