Special Issue "Grazing Livestock Systems: Measuring and Mitigating Enteric Methane Emissions"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2022.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. César S. Pinares-Patiño
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
‘The Agribusiness Group’, Lincoln, New Zealand
Interests: livestock systems; forage; feeding; ruminant nutrition; feed evaluation; pasture management
Dr. Arjan Jonker
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
AgResearch, Grasslands Research Centre, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Interests: ruminant nutrition; feed evaluation; enteric methane emissions; methane measurement techniques
Dr. Camila Muñoz
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, INIA Remehue, Osorno, Chile
Interests: ruminant nutrition; methane emissions; grazing dairy systems

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Methane is the main biological greenhouse gas emitted from ruminant livestock farming. Systems for grazing ruminants occupy an important part of global land surface and are therefore an important contributor to global enteric methane emissions. Grazing livestock systems face the challenge of reducing their overall environmental impact, especially enteric methane emissions, and at the same time, improving ecosystem function and providing for the livelihoods of rural communities, especially in developing countries. Therefore, more knowledge is needed on proven methane mitigation strategies that can be applied in a practical way on intensive and extensive grazing systems.

This Special Issue seeks original contributions from researchers working on innovative application of methane mitigation strategies and measurement methods that can be applied to grazing systems. Contributions are sought at the level of proof of concept, pilot trials and on farm application and adoption.

Dr. César S. Pinares-Patiño
Dr. Arjan Jonker
Dr. Camila Muñoz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Grazing
  • Pastoral
  • Enteric methane
  • Ruminants
  • Emission
  • Rumen
  • Mitigation
  • Measurement
  • Techniques
  • Greenhouse gas
  • Livestock

Published Papers (4 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Other

Article
Seasonal Effect on Feed Intake and Methane Emissions of Cow–Calf Systems on Native Grassland with Variable Herbage Allowance
Animals 2021, 11(3), 882; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11030882 - 19 Mar 2021
Viewed by 536
Abstract
The aim of this study was to measure methane emissions (CH4) and herbage intake, and, on the basis of these results, obtain the methane yield (MY, methane yield as g CH4/kg dry matter intake (DMI) and Ym, methane yield [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to measure methane emissions (CH4) and herbage intake, and, on the basis of these results, obtain the methane yield (MY, methane yield as g CH4/kg dry matter intake (DMI) and Ym, methane yield as a percentage of Gross Energy intake), from beef cows grazing on native grasslands. We used forty pregnant heifers, with two treatments of herbage allowance (HA) adjusted seasonally (8 and 5 kg dry matter (DM)/kg cattle live weight (LW), on average), during autumn, winter and spring. Methane emissions (207 g CH4/d), organic matter intake (OMI, 7.7 kg organic matter (OM)/d), MY (23.6 g CH4/kg DMI) and Ym (7.4%), were similar between treatments. On the other hand, all variables had a marked increase in spring (10.8 kg OM/d and 312 g CH4/d), except for Ym. The methane emission factor from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Tier 2 estimated with these results was 78 kg CH4/head/year. The results show that methane emissions and intake were influenced by the season, but not by the HA analyzed in this study. This information for cow–calf systems in native grasslands in Uruguay can be used in National greenhouse gases (GHG) inventories, representing a relevant contribution to global GHG inventories. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Effects of Feeding Level and Breed Composition on Intake, Digestibility, and Methane Emissions of Dairy Heifers
Animals 2021, 11(3), 586; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11030586 - 24 Feb 2021
Viewed by 817
Abstract
The dairy Nutrients Requirements of Cattle (NRC) was developed using data from purebred Holsteins and it might not accurately predict the performance of crossbred cattle. Our objectives were to evaluate the effects of two feeding levels (FLs) and three breed compositions (BCs) on [...] Read more.
The dairy Nutrients Requirements of Cattle (NRC) was developed using data from purebred Holsteins and it might not accurately predict the performance of crossbred cattle. Our objectives were to evaluate the effects of two feeding levels (FLs) and three breed compositions (BCs) on nutrient intake, digestibility, performance, and methane (CH4) emissions of prepubertal dairy heifers. We used thirty-six heifers from three BCs: purebred Holstein (H), purebred Gyr (G), and F1 Holstein × Gyr (HG). Each BC had 12 animals and the experiment was designed as twelve incomplete three by three Latin squares, in a factorial arrangement three by two, with three BCs and two FLs (400 and 800 g/day). Total tract nutrient digestibility was determined using total fecal collection and DMI was individually measured. The data were analyzed using the PROC MIXED in SAS. Dry matter intake of all nutrients increased from the medium to high feeding level and the nutrients digestibility coefficients did differ among BCs. Achieved body weight gain in the medium FL treatment was greater than those predicted using the NRC, suggesting that crossbred and Gyr heifers have similar performance to Holsteins. Breed composition does not influence body weight gain of confined dairy heifers, but Holstein heifers fed a medium FL had higher feed efficiency and reduced CH4 emissions intensity. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Feed Intake, Methane Emissions, Milk Production and Rumen Methanogen Populations of Grazing Dairy Cows Supplemented with Various C 18 Fatty Acid Sources
Animals 2020, 10(12), 2380; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10122380 - 11 Dec 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 754 | Correction
Abstract
Emissions of methane (CH4) from dairy production systems are environmentally detrimental and represent an energy cost to the cow. This study evaluated the effect of varying C18 fatty acid sources on CH4 emissions, milk production and rumen methanogen populations in [...] Read more.
Emissions of methane (CH4) from dairy production systems are environmentally detrimental and represent an energy cost to the cow. This study evaluated the effect of varying C18 fatty acid sources on CH4 emissions, milk production and rumen methanogen populations in grazing lactating dairy cows. Forty-five Holstein Friesian cows were randomly allocated to one of three treatments (n = 15). Cows were offered 15 kg dry matter (DM)/d of grazed pasture plus supplementary concentrates (4 kg DM/d) containing either stearic acid (SA), linseed oil (LO), or soy oil (SO). Cows offered LO and SO had lower pasture DM intake (DMI) than those offered SA (11.3, 11.5 vs. 12.6 kg/d). Cows offered LO and SO had higher milk yield (21.0, 21.3 vs. 19.7 kg/d) and milk protein yield (0.74, 0.73 vs. 0.67 kg/d) than those offered SA. Emissions of CH4 (245 vs. 293, 289 g/d, 12.4 vs. 15.7, 14.8 g/kg of milk and 165 vs. 207, 195 g/kg of milk solids) were lower for cows offered LO than those offered SA or SO. Methanobrevibacter ruminantium abundance was reduced in cows offered LO compared to SA. Offering supplementary concentrates containing LO can reduce enteric CH4 emissions from pasture fed dairy cows. Full article

Other

Jump to: Research

Correction
Correction: Boland, T.M.; et al. Feed Intake, Methane Emissions, Milk Production and Rumen Methanogen Populations of Grazing Dairy Cows Supplemented with Various C 18 Fatty Acid Sources. Animals 2020, 10, 2380
Animals 2021, 11(2), 280; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11020280 - 22 Jan 2021
Viewed by 426
Abstract
The authors wish to make a change to the published paper [...] Full article
Back to TopTop