Search Results (566)

Ruminant livestock production plays a crucial role in the agricultural systems of Sub-Saharan Africa, significantly supporting rural livelihoods through income generation, improved nutrition, and employment opportunities. Despite its importance, the sector continues to face substantial challenges, such as low feed quality, seasonal feed shortages, and climate-related stresses, all of which limit productivity and sustainability. Considering these challenges, the adoption of natural feed additives has emerged as a promising strategy to enhance animal performance, optimise nutrient utilisation, and mitigate environmental impacts, including the reduction of enteric methane emissions. This review underscores the significant potential of natural feed additives such as plant extracts, essential oils, probiotics, and mineral-based supplements such as fossil shell flour as sustainable alternatives to conventional growth promoters in ruminant production systems across the region. All available documented evidence on the topic from 2000 to 2024 was collated and synthesised through standardised methods of systematic review protocol—PRISMA. Out of 319 research papers downloaded, six were included and analysed directly or indirectly in this study. The results show that the addition of feed additives to ruminant diets in all the studies reviewed significantly (p < 0.05) improved growth parameters such as average daily growth (ADG), feed intake, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) compared to the control group. However, no significant (p > 0.05) effect was found on cold carcass weight (CCW), meat percentage, fat percentage, bone percentage, or intramuscular fat (IMF%) compared to the control. The available evidence indicates that these additives can provide tangible benefits, including improved growth performance, better feed efficiency, enhanced immune responses, and superior meat quality, while also supporting environmental sustainability by reducing nitrogen excretion and decreasing dependence on antimicrobial agents. Full article

Silvopastoral systems, though ecologically beneficial, remain underrepresented in the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy and are seldom studied in Mediterranean contexts. The current study assesses both the environmental and economic aspects of five typical silvopastoral systems in central Greece, encompassing cattle, sheep, and goat farming. A Life Cycle Assessment approach was implemented to quantify greenhouse gas emissions using economic allocation, distributing impacts between milk and meat outputs. Enteric fermentation was the major emission source, accounting for up to 65.14% of total emissions in beef-based systems, while feeding and soil emissions were more prominent in mixed and small ruminant systems. Total farm-level emissions ranged from 60,609 to 273,579 kg CO₂eq per year. Economically, only beef-integrated systems achieved an average annual profitability above EUR 20,000 per farm, based on financial data averaged over the last five years (2020–2024) from selected case studies in central Greece, while the remaining systems fell below the national poverty threshold for an average household, underscoring concerns about their economic viability. The findings underline the dual challenges of economic viability and policy neglect, stressing the need for targeted support if these multifunctional systems are to add value to EU climate goals and rural sustainability. Full article

Dietary tannin supplementation represents a potential strategy to modulate rumen fermentation and enhance lactation performance in dairy cows, though responses remain inconsistent. A 21-day feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of chestnut tannin (CNT) extract on the enteric methane emissions (EME), blood metabolites, and milk production traits in mid-lactation dairy cows. Thirty-six Holstein cows were allocated to three homogeneous treatment groups: control (CNT₀, 0 g/d CNT), CNT₄₀ (40 g/d CNT), and CNT₈₀ (80 g/d CNT). Measurements of EME, dry matter intake (DMI), milk yield (MY), and blood and milk parameters were carried out pre- and post-21-day supplementation period. Compared with the no-additive group, the CNT extract reduced methane production, methane yield, and methane intensity in CNT₄₀ and CNT₈₀ (p < 0.001). CNT₄₀ and CNT₈₀ cows exhibited lower blood urea nitrogen (p = 0.019 and p = 0.002) and elevated serum insulin (p = 0.003 and p < 0.001) and growth hormone concentrations (p = 0.046 and p = 0.034), coinciding with reduced aspartate aminotransferase (p = 0.016 and p = 0.045), and lactate dehydrogenase (p = 0.011 and p = 0.008) activities compared to control. However, CNT₈₀ had higher circulating NEFA and BHBA than CNT₀ (p = 0.003 and p = 0.004) and CNT₄₀ (p = 0.035 and p = 0.019). The blood glucose, albumin, and total bilirubin concentrations were not affected. MY and fat- and protein-corrected milk (FPCM), MY/DMI, and FPCM/DMI were higher in both CNT₄₀ (p = 0.004, p = 0.003, p = 0.014, p = 0.010) and CNT₈₀ (p = 0.002, p = 0.003, p = 0.008, p = 0.013) cows compared with controls. Feeding CNT₈₀ resulted in higher protein content (p = 0.015) but lower fat percentage in milk (p = 0.004) compared to CNT₀. Milk urea nitrogen and somatic cell counts were significantly lower in both CNT₄₀ (p < 0.001, p = 0.009) and CNT₈₀ (p < 0.001 for both) compared to CNT₀, while milk lactose did not differ between treatments. These findings demonstrate that chestnut tannin extract effectively mitigates EME while enhancing lactation performance in mid-lactation dairy cows. Full article

The environmental impact of milk production, particularly its share of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, is a topic under investigation in various parts of the world. This paper presents an overview of current knowledge on the carbon footprint (CF) of milk production at the farm level, with a particular focus on technological, environmental and organisational factors affecting emission levels. The analysis is based on a review of, inter alia, 46 peer-reviewed publications and 11 environmental reports, legal acts and databases concerning the CF in different regions and under various production systems. This study identifies the main sources of emissions, including enteric fermentation, manure management, and the production and use of feed and fertiliser. It also demonstrates the significant variability of the CF values, which range, on average, from 0.78 to 3.20 kg CO₂ eq kg⁻¹ of milk, determined by the farm scale, nutritional strategies, local environmental and economic determinants, and the methodology applied. Moreover, this study stresses that higher production efficiency and integrated farm management could reduce the CF per milk unit, with further intensification having, however, diminishing effects. The application of life cycle assessment (LCA) methods is essential for a reliable assessment and comparison of the CF between systems. Ultimately, an effective CF reduction requires a comprehensive approach that combines improved nutritional practices, efficient use of resources, and implementation of technological innovations adjusted to regional and farm-specific determinants. The solutions presented in this paper may serve as guidelines for practitioners and decision-makers with regard to reducing GHG emissions. Full article

Measuring methane (CH₄) emissions from dairy systems is crucial for advancing sustainable agricultural practices aimed at mitigating climate change. However, current CH₄ measurement techniques are primarily designed for controlled research settings and are not readily scalable to diverse production environments. Thus, there is a need to develop accessible, production-level methods for estimating CH₄ emissions. This review examines the relationship between enteric CH₄ emissions and milk fatty acid (FA) composition, highlights key FA groups with potential as biomarkers for indirect CH₄ estimation, and outlines critical factors of predictive model development. Several milk FAs exhibit strong and consistent correlations to CH₄ emissions, supporting their utility as predictive biomarkers. Saturated and branched-chain FAs are generally positively associated with CH₄ emissions, while unsaturated FAs, including linolenic acid, conjugated linoleic acids, and odd-chain FAs, are typically negatively associated. Variability in the strength and direction of correlations across studies is often attributable to differences in diet or lactation stage. Similarly, differences in experimental design, data processing, and model development contribute to much of the variation observed in predictive equations across studies. Future research should aim to (1) identify milk FAs that consistently correlate with CH₄ emissions regardless of diet, (2) develop robust and standardized prediction models, and (3) prioritize the external validation of prediction models across herds and production systems. Full article

The objective of this analysis was to compare the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from contemporary grazing cattle production with bison grazing, both modern and historical. The data sets used in this analysis were derived from existing research and conservation properties located outside of Manhattan, KS (USA), which are home to stocker cattle, cow–calf production (CCS), and grazing bison. For stocker cattle, 10 years of animal production data (2007–2016) from season-long stocking (SLS, grazing 156 d) and intensive early stocking systems (IES; 76 grazing d and 2× stocking density) were used for GHG calculations. Enteric CH₄, manure CH₄, and direct nitrous oxide emissions were estimated using the IPCC tier 2 methodology. Historic bison (HGB) enteric CH₄ estimates were calculated using a stocking density of 0.15 ha/animal and assuming that only 13% of grassland was used by bison each year. Within contemporary systems, IES had the lowest emissions (463.3 kg CO₂-eq./ha/yr), while SLS, CCS, and MGB had the highest estimates (494.7, 493.9, and 595.9 kg CO₂-eq./ha/yr, respectively). HGB had the lowest estimated annual emissions at 295.7 kg CO₂-eq./ha/yr. These results imply that the historic grazing baseline of this grassland system is lower but similar to that of contemporary grazing cattle in the Great Plains region. Full article

Every year, a large amount of antibiotics enter aquatic environments globally through discharging of pharmaceutical wastewater and domestic sewage, emissions from agriculture, and livestock, posing a severe threat to ecosystems and human health. Therefore, it is essential to develop efficient adsorption materials for rapid removal of antibiotics in water. In this study, abundant and renewable wetland plants (lotus leaves, Arundo donax, and canna lilies) were utilized as raw materials to prepare biochar through slow pyrolysis combined with KOH chemical activation. The prepared biochar was employed to adsorb typical tetracycline (TC) antibiotics (TC-HCl, CTC-HCl, OTC-HCl) from water. The results showed that the optimum biochar (LBC-600 (1:3)) was prepared at a pyrolysis temperature of 600 °C with the mass ratio of KOH to lotus leaf of 1:3. The optimum pH for the adsorption of the three antibiotics were 5, 4, and 3, respectively. The highest adsorption rates reached 93.32%, 81.44%, and 83.76% for TC-HCl, CTC-HCl, and OTC-HCl with 0.6 g/L of biochar, respectively. At an initial antibiotic concentration of 80 mg·L⁻¹, the maximum adsorption capacities achieved 40.17, 27.76, and 24.6 mg·g⁻¹ for TC-HCl, CTC-HCl, and OTC-HCl, respectively. The adsorption process conformed to the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models, indicating that it was a spontaneous endothermic process and primarily involved monolayer chemical adsorption. This study transformed wetland plant waste into adsorbent and applied it for antibiotic removal, providing a valuable resource utilization strategy and technical support for recycling wetland plant residues and antibiotic removal from water environments. Full article

Through the energy conversion of building skins, building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) technology, the core carrier of the smart city energy system, encourages the conversion of buildings into energy-generating units. However, the decommissioning of the module faces the challenge of physical dismantling and financial environmental damage because of the close coupling with the building itself. As the first tranche of BIPV projects will enter the end of their life cycle, it is urgent to establish a multi-dimensional collaborative recycling mechanism that meets the characteristics of building pv systems. Based on the theory of reverse logistics network, the research focuses on optimizing the reverse logistics network during the decommissioning stage of BIPV modules, and proposes a dual-objective optimization model that considers both cost and carbon emissions for BIPV. Meanwhile, the multi-level recycling network which covers “building points-regional transfer stations-specialized distribution centers” is designed in the research, the Pareto solution set is solved by the improved NSGA-II algorithm, a “1 + 1” du-al-core construction model of distribution center and transfer station is developed, so as to minimize the total cost and life cycle carbon footprint of the logistics network. At the same time, the research also reveals the driving effect of government reward and punishment policies on the collaborative behavior of enterprise recycling, and provides methodological support for the construction of a closed-loop supply chain of “PV-building-environment” symbiosis. The study concludes that in the process of constructing smart city energy system, the systematic control of resource circulation and environmental risks through the optimization of reverse logistics network can provide technical support for the sustainable development of smart city. Full article

Addressing the sustainability challenges posed by the expanding livestock sector is crucial for China’s green transition. With the transformation of national dietary structure and increasing demand for livestock products, the associated resource consumption and environmental impacts, particularly carbon emissions have intensified. Reducing carbon emissions from livestock is vital for mitigating global warming, enhancing resource utilization efficiency, improving ecosystems and biodiversity, and ultimately achieving sustainable development of the livestock industry. Against this backdrop, this study measures the carbon emissions from livestock sector employing the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method, and applies the Generalized Divisia Index Method (GDIM) to analyze the factors affecting the changes in carbon emissions, aiming to quantify and analyze the carbon footprint of China’s livestock sector to inform sustainable practices. The findings reveal that China’s total carbon emissions from the livestock sector fluctuated between 645.15 million tons and 812.99 million tons from 2000 to 2023. Since 2020, emissions have entered a new phase of continuous growth, with a 5.40% increase in 2023 compared to 2020. Significantly, a positive trend toward sustainability is observed in the substantial decline of carbon emission intensity over the study period, with notable reductions in emission intensity across provinces and a gradual convergence in inter-provincial disparities. Understanding the drivers is key for effective mitigation. The output level and total mechanical power consumption level emerged as primary positive drivers of carbon emissions, while output carbon intensity and mechanical power consumption carbon intensity served as major negative drivers. Moving forward, to foster a sustainable and low-carbon livestock sector, China’s livestock sector development should prioritize coordinated carbon reduction across the entire industrial chain, adjust the industrial structure, and enhance the utilization efficiency of advanced low-carbon agricultural machinery while introducing such equipment. Full article

Livestock farming is a vital component of global food security, yet it remains a major contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly methane (CH₄), which has a global warming potential 28 times greater than carbon dioxide (CO₂). This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of current knowledge surrounding the sources, biological mechanisms, and mitigation strategies related to CH₄ emissions from ruminant livestock. We first explore the process of methanogenesis within the rumen, detailing the role of methanogenic archaea and the environmental factors influencing CH₄ production. A thorough assessment of both direct and indirect methods used to quantify CH₄ emissions is presented, including in vitro techniques (e.g., syringe method, batch culture, RUSITEC), in vivo techniques (e.g., respiration chambers, Greenfeed, laser CH₄ detectors), and statistical modeling approaches. The advantages and limitations of each method are critically analyzed in terms of accuracy, cost, feasibility, and applicability to different farming systems. We then examine a wide range of mitigation strategies, organized into four core pillars: (1) animal and feed management (e.g., genetic selection, pasture quality improvement), (2) diet formulation (e.g., feed additives such as oils, tannins, saponins, and seaweed), (3) rumen manipulation (e.g., probiotics, ionophores, defaunation, vaccination), and (4) manure management practices and policy-level interventions. These strategies are evaluated not only for their environmental impact but also for their economic and practical viability in diverse livestock systems. By integrating technological innovations with sustainable agricultural practices, this review highlights pathways to reduce CH₄ emissions while maintaining animal productivity. It aims to support decision-makers, researchers, and livestock producers in the global effort to transition toward climate-smart, low-emission livestock farming. Full article

As China enters a high-quality development stage, balancing economic growth and environmental sustainability is essential. Can industrial intelligence reconcile these goals? Using theoretical modeling, this paper integrates production decisions, pollution emissions, and environmental regulations to construct a micro-level analytical framework incorporating technology choice and emission reduction investment. It theoretically explores how robot adoption affects firms’ emission reduction behaviors and empirically tests the model using data from Chinese listed companies (2011–2022). Results indicate that industrial robots significantly reduce firms’ pollution emission intensity through productivity boost, technological progress, and emission reduction effects. Additionally, heterogeneity analyses show that robots have stronger pollution-reducing impacts in heavily polluting industries, state-owned enterprises, and regions with stringent environmental regulations. Therefore, policymakers should encourage robot adoption based on local contexts, formulate differentiated environmental regulations, and implement targeted strategies to maximize robots’ emission reduction potential. Accelerating green and intelligent transformation of enterprises will further align ecological protection with sustainable economic and social development. Full article

The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation with organic oregano (Origanum vulgare) essential oil (OEO) on the rumen microbial population, with a focus on methanogenic archaea, in lactating dairy goats. A total of nine age-matched goats (mean body weight 49 ± 1.8 kg) were assigned to three experimental groups (n = 3 per group) in a completely randomized design. All animals were fed a basal diet consisting of a corn-based concentrate and a forage mix composed of alfalfa hay, wheat straw and corn silage. Group 1 was the control group while Groups 2 and 3 received an OEO supplement at dosages of 1 mL/day and 2 mL/day per animal, respectively, incorporated into the concentrate feed. Rumen fluid samples were collected on days 15, 30 and 45 of the feeding trial and their microbial profile was assessed using NGS analysis. The results demonstrated a reduction in the relative abundance of methanobacteria in both OEO-supplemented groups compared to the control group. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences between feeding groups and days of sampling. These findings suggest that OEO has the potential to modulate the rumen microbiome by reducing methane-producing archaeal populations. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with OEO may serve as a natural strategy to mitigate enteric methane emissions in Alpine dairy goats. Full article

Efficient identification and removal of low-grade minerals during graphite ore processing is essential for improving product quality, optimizing resource recovery, and promoting sustainable production. To address the limitations of traditional sorting methods and performance bottlenecks in edge devices, this paper proposes a lightweight instance segmentation model, GS-YOLO-seg, for rapid identification and intelligent sorting of low-grade graphite ore in industrial production lines. The model first reduces network depth by adjusting the depth factor. Subsequently, the backbone network adopts the lightweight and efficient GSConv to perform downsampling, while a novel C3k2-Faster architecture is proposed to improve the effectiveness of feature extraction. Finally, the Segment-Efficient segmentation head is optimized to reduce redundant computations, further lowering the model load. On a self-constructed graphite ore image dataset, GS-YOLO-seg achieved comparable segmentation performance to the baseline YOLO11n-seg, while achieving a 30% reduction in FLOPs, 59% fewer parameters, 56% smaller model size, and 8% higher FPS. This method enhances the intelligence of the sorting process, preventing low-grade ores from entering subsequent stages, thus reducing resource waste, energy consumption, and carbon emissions, providing crucial technical support and feasible deployment pathways for building intelligent, green, and sustainable mining systems. Full article

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have the advantages of high efficiency, a low operating temperature, and a pollution-free reaction. Therefore, PEMFCs have emerged as a viable clean energy solution for ships to reduce their carbon emissions. When PEMFCs operate in marine salt spray environments, foreign ions entering the cathodes of fuel cells with air can cause a decline in cell performance. In this study, the effects of the cation type (K⁺, Na⁺, Mg²⁺, and Ca²⁺) and concentration (0.25 M and 0.5 M) on cell performance in terms of the polarization curve were systematically investigated using a fuel cell test system. Cell performance degradation was observed due to the existence of cations. The influence of the four cations on cell performance followed the rule of Ca²⁺ > Mg²⁺ > Na⁺ > K⁺. Meanwhile, cell performance decreased with an increase in concentration. When the fuel cell was not contaminated, the voltage was 0.645 V at a current density of 1 A/cm². When the concentration was 0.5 M, the corresponding voltages were 0.594 V, 0.583 V, 0.559 V, and 0.300 V, respectively. In addition, fuel cells contaminated by NaNO₃ and NaCl were compared. Due to the existence of Cl⁻, more severe performance degradation was observed when the fuel cells were contaminated by NaCl. Full article

Research was conducted in Gannan Prefecture, China, to better understand the characteristics of carbon emissions and sequestration in areas dominated by animal husbandry. The emission factor method was used to calculate and analyze changes in carbon emissions from 2009 to 2024. The region’s average annual carbon emissions from animal husbandry are 774,286 t C-eq (2,839,049 t CO₂eq), with enteric emissions from cattle being the biggest contributor. However, as the number of locally raised cattle and sheep has decreased, carbon emissions have gradually fallen at an average annual rate of −1.0%. The annual average total carbon sequestration of vegetation in the region is 6,861,535 t C-eq, and the carbon content in underground biomass is higher than that in aboveground biomass, making it the main contributor to grassland carbon sequestration. Carbon sequestration from grassland vegetation is greater than the carbon emissions from animal husbandry, which means that the entire production system is currently a carbon sink. Meanwhile, the analysis of land-use carbon sequestration found that the annual average total sequestration by forests and grasslands over the same time period was 752,327 t C-eq, and sequestration is increasing at an annual rate of 1.4%, primarily driven by the progressive expansion of forested areas. Although the regional carbon emissions from animal husbandry are lower than the carbon sequestration, developing a science-based animal husbandry plan aligned with regional ecological thresholds, continuing to implement grass–livestock balance management measures, and preventing livestock numbers from exceeding their ecological carrying capacity remain critical to promoting sustainable coordination between livestock economies and ecological conservation. Full article