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Sustainability
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Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock for Sustainable Agriculture
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Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock for Sustainable Agriculture

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Agriculture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 10176

Special Issue Editors

Dr. George P. Laliotis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Department of Animal Science, Agricultural University of Athens, 75 Iera Odos, 11855 Athens, Greece
Interests: animal husbandry; climate change and livestock production; physiology of productive traits; farm animals’ communication; DNA polymorphisms and productive traits
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Vassilios Dotas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Animal Production, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: animal nutrition; dietary feed evaluation; animal product quality
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Livestock is responsible for 15% of the total anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, thus influencing the global warming of our planet greatly. Due to population growth, future projections expect animal production to increase as a response to the growing human demand for animal products. To meet this demand, a greater impact in terms of the consumption of natural resources, gas emissions, energy requirements, feed production, and intensive land use is predicted. Reducing the GHG emissions derived from human activities is a high priority worldwide. The transmission to a “climate neutral”, greener, and more sustainable livestock production process is necessary to provide mitigating strategies, measures, and policies for eliminating GHG emissions and inhibiting global warming. Therefore, mitigating GHG emissions from the livestock sector is crucial and of the utmost importance for promoting sustainable livestock. This Special Issue aims to present original research and reviews regarding the practices, measures, strategies, applications, or policies that may mitigate GHG emissions from the livestock sector, further promoting sustainable agriculture. The issue welcomes contributions focusing on recent advances in the livestock sector for mitigating GHG emissions, including (but not limited to) husbandry practices, breeding strategies, genomic and proteomic research, genetic diversity, diet and grazing management, animal and husbandry monitoring, digital farming, waste and manure management, changes on farming systems, and circular economy-related issues. Contributions describing the elimination of GHG on integrated farming systems, mitigation scenarios, agroforestry management, dietary initiatives and changes, and policy interventions are also welcome.

Dr. George P. Laliotis
Dr. Vassilios Dotas
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 submissions that pass pre-check are 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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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

  • livestock
  • animal husbandry
  • climate change
  • greenhouse gas emissions
  • mitigation strategies
  • sustainable livestock
  • production systems
  • manure management
  • diet management
  • waste treatment
  • cyclic economy
  • methanogenesis
  • handling practices
  • environmental impact
  • environmental policies.

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 822 KiB  
Article
Addition of Tannin-Containing Legumes to Native Grasslands: Effects on Enteric Methane Emissions, Nitrogen Losses and Animal Performance of Beef Cattle
by Fabiano Barbosa Alecrim, Thais Devincenzi, Rafael Reyno, América Mederos, Claudia Simón Zinno, Julieta Mariotta, Fernando A. Lattanzi, Gabriel Nuto Nóbrega, Daniel Santander, José Ignacio Gere, Lívia Irigoyen and Verónica S. Ciganda
Sustainability 2024, 16(20), 9135; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16209135 - 21 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1827
Abstract
Extensive cattle production on native grasslands is vital to the sustainability of the South American Pampas, and the inclusion of tannin-containing legumes can increase farm profitability, improve nitrogen (N) use and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study quantified the effects of adding [...] Read more.
Extensive cattle production on native grasslands is vital to the sustainability of the South American Pampas, and the inclusion of tannin-containing legumes can increase farm profitability, improve nitrogen (N) use and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study quantified the effects of adding tannin-containing legumes to native grasslands on enteric methane (CH4) emissions, animal performance and N balance in cattle. A crossover design trial was conducted with 22 beef heifers under two treatments: native grassland (NG) and native grassland with the addition of Lotus uliginosus and L. angustissimus (NG+L). The results showed that forage mass disappearance was similar between treatments; however, 54% of the forage disappearance in the NG+L corresponded with legumes, indicating that the heifers in this treatment consumed a better-quality diet. While individual CH4 emissions were similar between treatments, heifers grazing the NG+L showed a higher average daily gain (ADG) and lower emissions intensity than heifers grazing NGs (0.25 vs. 0.58 g CH4/g ADG, p < 0.05). Additionally, they also ingested 20% more N and were more efficient in its utilization. Incorporating tannin-containing legumes into native grasslands can improve animal productivity and N use efficiency while reducing the intensity of enteric CH4 emissions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock for Sustainable Agriculture)
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Review

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27 pages, 1457 KiB  
Review
Manure Management as a Potential Mitigation Tool to Eliminate Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Livestock Systems
by George K. Symeon, Konstantina Akamati, Vassilios Dotas, Despoina Karatosidi, Iosif Bizelis and George P. Laliotis
Sustainability 2025, 17(2), 586; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17020586 - 14 Jan 2025
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4763
Abstract
Climate change is a contemporary global challenge that requires comprehensive solutions to mitigate its adverse effects. All human activities contribute to climate change, mainly through atmospheric emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), [...] Read more.
Climate change is a contemporary global challenge that requires comprehensive solutions to mitigate its adverse effects. All human activities contribute to climate change, mainly through atmospheric emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4). While most of these emissions are primarily due to fossil fuel use, agriculture and livestock production also contribute to a significant share of approximately 12% of global emissions. Most processes that are implemented within an animal husbandry unit are associated with greenhouse gas emissions, including manure management. This review explores the interconnection between climate change and manure management practices, highlighting the potential for sustainable approaches to mitigating GHG emissions. The key strategies for manure management, such as anaerobic digestion, nutrient management, composting, manure separation and treatment, and improved storage and handling, are discussed, as they are implemented in different livestock production systems (ruminants, poultry, and pigs). Despite the technological progress, there is still a place for further improving manure management approaches, especially in non-ruminant species leading to a higher mitigation potential and a reduction in greenhouse gases emissions. Moreover, policy support and incentives for sustainable practices are crucial for widespread adoption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock for Sustainable Agriculture)
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35 pages, 2429 KiB  
Review
Alternative Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) System Considerations for Reducing Energy Use and Emissions in Egg Industries in Temperate and Continental Climates: A Systematic Review of Current Systems, Insights, and Future Directions
by Leandra Vanbaelinghem, Andrea Costantino, Florian Grassauer and Nathan Pelletier
Sustainability 2024, 16(12), 4895; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16124895 - 7 Jun 2024
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2907
Abstract
Egg production is amongst the most rapidly expanding livestock sectors worldwide. A large share of non-renewable energy use in egg production is due to the operation of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Reducing energy use, therefore, is essential to decreasing the [...] Read more.
Egg production is amongst the most rapidly expanding livestock sectors worldwide. A large share of non-renewable energy use in egg production is due to the operation of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Reducing energy use, therefore, is essential to decreasing the environmental impacts of intensive egg production. This review identifies market-ready alternatives (such as heat pumps and earth–air heat exchangers) to traditional HVAC systems that could be applied in the industrial egg sector, specifically focusing on their use in temperate and continental climates. For this analysis, energy simulations were run to estimate the typical thermal loads of caged and free-run poultry housing systems in various Canadian locations, which were used as examples of temperate and continental climates. These estimations were then used to evaluate alternative HVAC systems for (1) their capability to meet the energy demands of egg production facilities, (2) their environmental impact mitigation potential, and (3) their relative affordability by considering the insights from a systematic review of 225 relevant papers. The results highlighted that future research should prioritize earth–air heat exchangers as a complementary system and ground source heat pumps as a stand-alone system to reduce the impacts associated with conventional HVAC system operation in egg production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock for Sustainable Agriculture)
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