Search Results (5)

Peru has the largest inventory of alpacas worldwide. Despite their importance as a source of net income for rural communities living at the Andean Plateau, data on energy requirements and methane (CH₄) emissions for alpacas are particularly lacking. In 2019, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC; 2006, and Refinement 2019) outlined methods for estimating CH₄ emissions from enteric fermentation and no methane (CH₄) conversion factors were reported for camelids. IPCC has since updated its guidelines for estimating CH₄ emissions from the enteric fermentation of livestock at a national scale. For greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory purposes, conversion factors were developed for ruminants but not for domestic South American camelids (SAC), with this category including alpacas. A mobile open-circuit respirometry system (head hood) for the rapid determination of CH₄ and CO₂ production, O₂ consumption, and thereafter, heat production (HP) for camelids was built and validated. In addition, an experimental test with eight alpacas was conducted for validation purposes. The average HP measured by indirect calorimetry (respiratory quotient (RQ) method) was close to the average HP determined from the carbon–nitrogen balance (CN method); 402 kJ/kg BW^0.75 and 398 kJ/kg BW^0.75, respectively. Fasting HP was determined by the RQ method and 250 kJ/kg BW^0.75 was obtained. The metabolizable energy requirement for maintenance (MEm) was calculated to be 323 kJ/kg BW^0.75 with an efficiency of energy utilization of 77%. When intake was adjusted to zero energy retention by linear regression, the MEm requirement increased to 369 kJ/kg BW^0.75 and the efficiency decreased up to 68%. The CH₄ conversion factor (Y_m) was 5.5% on average. Further research is required to gain a better understanding of the energy requirements and CH₄ emissions of alpacas in conditions of the Andean Plateau and to quantify them with greater accuracy. Full article

Over the past few decades, the supply of beef has increasingly become available with the great improvement of the quality of life, especially in developing countries. However, along with the demand for meat products of high quality and the transformation of dietary structure, the impact of massive agricultural greenhouse gas emissions on the environmental load cannot be ignored. Therefore, the objective of this study is to predict the annual greenhouse gas emissions of 10 million heads of beef cattle under both the ecological cycle model (EC model) and the non-ecological cycle model (non-EC model), respectively, in order to compare the differences between these two production models in each process, and thus explore which one is more sustainable and environmentally friendly. To this end, through the life cycle assessment (LCA), this paper performs relevant calculations according to the methodology of 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (2019 IPCC Inventories). The results have shown that the total GHG emissions of the non-EC model were almost 4 times higher than those of the EC model, and feed-grain cultivation and manure management were main emission sources in both models. The non-EC model produced significantly more emissions than the EC model in each kind of GHG, especially the largest gap between these two was in CO₂ emissions that accounted for 68.01% and 56.17% of the respective planting and breeding systems. This study demonstrates that the transformation of a beef cattle breeding model has a significant direct impact on cutting agricultural GHG emissions, and persuades other countries in the similar situation to vigorously advocate ecological cycling breeding model instead of the traditional ones so that promotes coordinated development between planting industry and beef cattle breeding industry. Full article

This study aimed to estimate the environmental impact of barley production in the Basque Country, Northern Spain, using cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, as well as to assess how methodological choices (i.e., the use of IPCC 2019 Guidelines versus allocation methods) can influence such estimation. The production of mineral fertiliser and the direct emissions of nitrous oxide (N₂O) resulting from the application of nitrogen (N) fertiliser were identified as the two main contributors (40% and 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions, respectively) to the environmental impact of barley production. Pertaining to GHG emissions themselves, the use of calcium ammonium nitrate fertiliser was found to be the main contributor. Therefore, the optimization of N fertiliser application was established as a key process to reduce the environmental impact of barley production. The fertiliser-related release of N and phosphorous (P) to the environment was the main contributor to particulate matter formation, terrestrial acidification, and terrestrial and marine eutrophication. The incorporation of environmental data on NH₃, NO_x, NO₃⁻, and PO₄³⁻ to the LCA led to a more accurate estimation of barley production impact. A sensitivity analysis showed that the use of economic allocation, compared to mass allocation, increased the estimation of climate change-related impact by 80%. In turn, the application of the IPCC 2019 Refinement Guidelines increased this estimation by a factor of 1.12 and 0.86 in wet regions and decreased in dry regions, respectively. Our results emphasise the importance of the choice of methodology, adapted to the specific case under study, when estimating the environmental impact of food production systems. Full article

Dairy cattle farming contributes significantly to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through methane (CH₄) from enteric fermentation. To complement global efforts to mitigate climate change, there is a need for accurate estimations of GHG emissions using country-specific emission factors (EFs). The objective of this study was to develop national EFs for the estimation of CH₄ emissions from enteric fermentation in South Korean dairy cattle. Information on dairy cattle herd characteristics, diet, and management practices specific to South Korean dairy cattle farming was obtained. Enteric CH₄ EFs were estimated according to the 2019 refinement of the 2006 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) using the Tier 2 approach. Three animal subcategories were considered according to age: milking cows >2 years, 650 kg body weight (BW); heifers 1–2 years, 473 kg BW; and growing animals <1 year, 167 kg BW. The estimated enteric CH₄ EFs for milking cows, heifers, and growing animals, were 139, 83 and 33 kg/head/year, respectively. Currently, the Republic of Korea adopts the Tier 1 default enteric CH₄ EFs from the North America region for GHG inventory reporting. Compared with the generic Tier 1 default EF of 138 (kg CH₄/head/year) proposed by the 2019 refinement to the 2006 IPCC guidelines for high-milking cows, our suggested value for milking cows was very similar (139 kg CH₄ /head/year) and different to heifers and growing animals EFs. In addition, enteric CH₄ EFs were strongly correlated with the feed digestibility, level of milk production, and CH₄ conversion rate. The adoption of the newly developed EFs for dairy cattle in the next national GHG inventory would lead to a potential total GHG reduction from the South Korean dairy sector of 97,000 tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent per year (8%). The outcome of this study underscores the importance of obtaining country-specific EFs to estimate national enteric CH₄ emissions, which can further support the assessment of mitigation actions. Full article

Since fluorine compounds have both high ozone depletion potential and high global warming potential, the study of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs) is crucial for climate change research. In this study, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ozone-depleting industries in the Republic of Korea were estimated based on survey data on the use of fluorine compounds. This study is a response to the growing global attention to halocarbons that arose from the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. Survey data on the consumption of fluorine compounds by application area were used to estimate emissions by applying the 2019 refinement IPCC Guidelines Tier 1a method. In addition, both the consumption ratio of fluorine compounds in the refrigeration and air conditioning application area and total fluorine compounds consumption by application area were compared with the values suggested by the UN Environment Programme to compare the current status with that in developing and developed countries. By comparing the derived GHG emissions with current emissions in the National Inventory Report, it was confirmed that 14,565 GgCO₂eq of GHG emissions differed. In addition, through the replacement of fluorine compounds used as refrigerants, 14,422 GgCO₂eq of the GHG emissions can be reduced. Full article