Agricultural opportunities to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions

Modelling spatial heterogeneity in grazed grassland and its effects on nitrogen cycling and greenhouse gas emissions

To achieve the goal of "carbon peak and neutrality," the strict requirements for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions control in the agricultural sector were recommended in relevant plans for Beijing during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. Through collecting agricultural activity data and calculating and screening the emission factors, the amount and emission characteristics of agricultural GHG emissions in Beijing in 2020 were estimated and set as the baseline condition. On this basis, the GHG emissions in 2025 with optimized measurements implemented, which were selected in combination with the natural conditions and planting-breeding mode of Beijing, were set as the reduction condition. The emission reduction potential and its distribution during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period were predicted simultaneously. Meanwhile, the reduction effects on the GHG emissions of optimized measurements were evaluated. In addition, relevant policy recommendations on GHG reduction were proposed accordingly. The results revealed that the total agricultural GHG emissions in Beijing were estimated to be 456000 t (CO2-eq) in 2020, primarily from sources of animal intestinal fermentation and manure management, with contribution rates of 50.7% and 26.7%, respectively. Spatially, it was mainly distributed in districts with large livestock and poultry breeding scales, such as Shunyi District, Miyun District, and Yanqing District, etc. It was predicted that in 2025, the total agricultural GHG emissions would be 349000 t (CO2-eq), and the emission reduction potential in the 14th Five-Year Plan period would be 107000 t (CO2-eq). Animal intestinal fermentation would be the emission source with the largest reduction potential (60000 tons, CO2-eq), followed by the emission source of animal manure management (37000 tons, CO2-eq). Adjusting fodder composition and optimizing manure management were analyzed to be the most effective optimized measurements for agricultural GHG emission reduction. Moreover, the emission reduction potential of CH4 would be greater than that of N2O. The emission reduction potential would be mainly distributed in Miyun District, Shunyi District, Yanqing District, Fangshan District, Tongzhou District, and other suburbs with large livestock and poultry breeding scales, accounting for more than 10% of the total emission reduction potential for each. These regions with large emission reduction potential should be prioritized and then the assessments should be extended to the whole city. The measurements were recommended as follows:① the research and promotion of technologies such as fodder optimization and the efficient treatment of manure should be strengthened, ② the scope of the combination of planting and breeding model should be expanded to promote the development of circular agriculture, and ③ relevant standards, guidelines, and specifications for green and low-carbon agriculture should be formulated, and the regulatory and policy system for synergy reduction of agricultural pollution and GHG should be developed.

Greenhouse gas emissions from the Canadian dairy industry in 2001

Greenhouse gas emissions and biogas potential from livestock in Ecuador

Effect of cattle diet and manure storage conditions on carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide emissions from tie-stall barns and stored solid manure

Objectives:A whole process greenhouse gas emission factor was developed considering the direct greenhouse gas emission from the decomposition of livestock manure provided by the IPCC guidelines and the energy consumption of manure management systems.Methods:Greenhouse gas generated by animal manure management is divided into direct greenhouse gas emission by decomposition of manure and greenhouse gas effect in the entire process due to energy use by operating manure management systems. By obtaining and summing them, the whole process greenhouse gas emission factor for the livestock manure treatment system was calculated.Results and Discussion:Among the pig manure management systems, the greenhouse gas emission factors for composting, purification and liquefaction were calculated as 128 kgCO2-eq./ton, 123 kgCO2-eq./ton, 119 kgCO2-eq./ton, respectively. It was analyzed that 20.7% to 24.1% of greenhouse gas emissions generated in the process of managing manure were due to electricity use. As a result of analyzing the change in the emission factor according to the change in GHG emissions of the national electric power according to the 8th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand, a change in emission of about 6% was confirmed. Based on the results of this study and analysis of direct GHG emissions from manure management in three major Western European countries, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, based on the manure management emission factor in 2017, GHG emissions of 48.9% to 70% compared to this study in all countries.Conclusions:In the greenhouse gas emission factor for the pig manure management system, the greenhouse gas emission from energy used in the manure management system operation represents a contribution of more than 20%, so improvement of energy efficiency of the manure management system in the future can contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emission. As the GHG emissions of the pig manure management system are expected to change substantially according to the change in the power grid composition ratio according to the 8th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand, it is necessary to study the application plan in preparation for the implementation of product environmental footprint certification for livestock products in the future. As a result of comparing direct GHG emissions by manure management with major Western European countries, the difference in emissions was found to be large, suggesting the need to develop a Tier 2 emission factor suitable for the situation in Korea.

Greenhouse gas emission profiles of European livestock sectors

Modelling impacts of alternative farming management practices on greenhouse gas emissions from a winter wheat–maize rotation system in China

Effects of reduced tillage on net greenhouse gas fluxes from loamy sand soil under winter crops in Denmark

Emission of CO 2 and N 2O from soil cultivated with common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) fertilized with different N sources

The burning of fossil fuels in developed nations and the conversion of natural grasslands and forests to intensely managed agricultural production systems are the single most important anthropogenic sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs) contributing to global warming. Such activities do not only contribute to the accumulation of GHGs in the atmosphere, but also lead to the depletion of the global soil organic matter (SOM) pool, further impacting soil fertility and crop productivity. Climate change will likely affect the distribution and productivity of life-sustaining agricultural crops and livestock in different regions of the world, including temperate and tropical biomes. As a result, the United Nations Development Program suggested that millions of people may be facing shortages of food and continued degradation of their agricultural resources. Therefore, one of the challenges is to maintain agricultural productivity to meet current and projected trends in food production, while at the same time minimizing GHG emissions, increasing C (C) sequestration and maintaining soil fertility. This, coupled with large-scale land, soil, and water degradation, will challenge the long-term and sustainable production of agricultural resources that promote food security. Traditional coping mechanisms, such as conventional agroecosystem management practices may not be an economically feasible adaptation strategy, especially for those already experiencing socioeconomic adversity. Therefore, improvement and refinement of ecologically-based land management practices are essential. Soft-path agricultural technologies such as the complex agroecosystems, including agroforestry systems, may make a substantial contribution in the mitigation of GHGs, the sequestration of C, and other ecological services while maintaining a long-term sustainable production of agricultural products. Due to their multipart structure, complex agroecosystems are likely more resilient to climate change and provide a sustainable alternative to conventional land management practices. This special issue of the Agriculture Journal , on the role of complex agroecosystems in climate change mitigation, encapsulates research from temperate and tropical biomes, with a special focus on agroforestry systems. In tropical regions, Chesney et al. investigated the performance of cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata L.) on alley cropping agroforestry systems with Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Kunth ex Walp. and Leucaena leucacephala (Lam.) de Wit and a no-tree control on an infertile acidic soil in Guyana. Their goal was to evaluate the ability of fast-growing nitrogen (N 2 )-fixing trees ( G. sepium , L. leucocephala ) on cowpea yield. Such practice would maximize the cowpea crop yield but minimize the need for an external source of N fertilizers. They suggested that such practices provide a sustainable source of food, and conserve soil resources but it will also reduce the potential production of the GHGs over the long-term. They noted that these agroforestry practices would curb N 2 O emissions, which has a global warming potential 296 times greater than that of CO 2 . Smith and Oelbermann used a qualitative approach to evaluate the perception and knowledge of climate change by landowners in a remote Costa Rican agricultural community. They also evaluated the type of sustainable agricultural practices already implemented that could also serve as a strategy to climate change adaptation. Their study showed that community members were aware of climate change and already observed changes in local weather patterns over the past decade that affected the distribution of vegetation and wildlife. As a result, agricultural producers were continually striving to implement agroforestry practices which were viewed as more robust and resilient to climate change by helping to maintain agricultural productivity while also providing economic and socioecological needs. In temperate regions, Evers et al. provided an overview of the potential of tree-based intercropping (agroforestry alley cropping) systems in climate mitigation through the reduction of GHG emissions. They outlined the most recent research results from southern Ontario and Quebec and found that agroforestry systems could lower N2O emissions by 1.2 kg ha -1 y -1 compared to a conventional (monoculture) agroecosystem. They also suggested that the potential of agroforestry systems to sequester C in the soil and tree component was greater than in conventional agroecosystems, especially if fast-growing tree species for bioenergy production were used. Such practices may also provide an opportunity to receive payment for the ecological services provided by the agroforest, making these production systems a better option than conventional systems for agricultural producers in temperate regions. Isaac et al. investigated the internal accumulation and retention of nutrients in nutrient-spiked pine seedlings commonly used in temperate agroforestry systems and hypothesized that nutrient-spiking would lower seedling transplanting stress and reduce pressure on native soil resources and proposed that nutrient spiking would also lead to an increase in nutrient availability for the growing crop and also minimize competition between trees and crops. They found a favorable response in tree and crop root biomass accumulation in nutrient-spiked treatments and found that N, phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) significantly increased in the pine tissue and resulted in a steady or increased uptake of these nutrients by the crop (maize). Isaac et al. suggested that such specialized practices may be required when establishing agroforestry systems for the benefit of nutrient regulation and enhanced capacity to sequester C for the long-term mitigation of climate change. The Argentine Pampa is one of the most fertile regions in the world and natural grasslands and forests continue to be converted to intense agricultural production systems. Such practices have led to large losses in soil organic carbon (SOC) and contributed to the accumulation of GHGs in the atmosphere. The paper by Posse et al. outlines the absence of precise quantitative data on the emission and sequestration of GHG, which impedes a better understanding of the mechanisms driving CO2 emissions from agroecosystems. Although the paper by Posse et al. does not investigate CO2 fluxes from complex agroecosystems, but instead it provides vital information on the emission of this GHG in one of the most rapidly expanding agricultural frontiers in the world, which is also experiencing the effects of global warming on crop productivity. Posse et al. aim to characterize the exchange of CO 2 , using eddy covariance techniques, in a monoculture soybean system during an extreme dry summer which resulted in a high crop loss. They found that the greatest emission of CO2 occurred during premature crop senescence (due to drought) but the field became a CO 2 sink once the soil as covered by weeds. As such, changes in crop phenology and botanical composition (weeds) coincided with changes in the flux of CO 2 . The papers presented in this special issue of the Agriculture Journal provided an important insight into the potential of decreasing GHGs and maximizing C sequestration. These papers have also provided an important stepping stone by outlining the future direction of research to further understand the importance and role of complex agroecosystems in mitigating climate change. This research field is in its infancy but results are favorable by indicating that complex agroecosystems not only enhance the cycling of nutrients and the productivity of agricultural crops and show greater resilience to climate change, but they can also play an important role in the mitigation of climate change.

Bridging the data gap: engaging developing country farmers in greenhouse gas accounting

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The world population is expected to grow to about 10 billion in 2050. To supply the future human population with food while sustaining a liveable planet, food should be produced sustainably. One of the most urgent environmental issues is climate change, induced by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The dairy sector is a large contributor to GHG emissions. Important GHGs related to milk production are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), mainly emitted during feed production, enteric fermentation, and manure management. Diseases in dairy cows can reduce milk production, reproduction performance and longevity, and increase the amount of discarded milk. The objectives of this thesis were to estimate the impact of diseases (subclinical ketosis, clinical mastitis, and foot lesions) on GHG emissions, and to understand the relation between impact of diseases on GHG emissions and economic performance. First, a dynamic stochastic simulation model was developed to simulate the dynamics of the diseases and the associated production losses (reduced milk production, discarded milk, a prolonged calving interval, and removal (culling or dying on the farm)) per cow during one lactation. This model was combined with a life cycle assessment to quantify the impact of diseases on GHG emissions per ton fat-and-protein-corrected milk (kg CO2equivalents/t FPCM) from cradle to farm gate. Processes included were feed production, enteric fermentation, and manure management. The emissions of GHGs of cows with a disease increased on average by 21 (2.3%) kg CO2e/t FPCM per case of subclinical ketosis, by 58 (6.2%) kg CO2e/t FPCM per case of clinical mastitis, by 4 (0.4%) kg CO2e/ t FPCM per case of digital dermatitis, by 39 (4.3%) kg CO2e/ t FPCM per case of white line disease, and by 33 (3.6%) kg CO2e/ t FPCM per case of sole ulcer. An economic analyses was performed to estimate the costs of subclinical ketosis and related diseases. The total costs of subclinical ketosis were €130 per case per year. Comparing the impact of production contributors from a GHG emissions and economic perspective showed that a reduction in milk production had the highest impact on the economic performance, whereas removal and discarded milk had the highest impact on increase in GHG emissions. Prevalence, pathogen type, farm management (e.g. culling, feed, and manure), and prices (e.g. milk and feed) will affect the impact of production contributors on GHG emissions and economic performance. Therefore, specific farm analyses are needed to estimate the impact of diseases for a specific dairy farm. Diseases in dairy cows increase GHG emissions by approximately 0.4 Mton per year, which equals 15% of the Dutch governmental goal of GHG emission reductions in agriculture in 2030. Reducing diseases can decrease GHG emissions, can increase the income of the farmer, and can improve animal welfare. Therefore, reducing diseases can contribute to sustainable development of the dairy sector.

Manure management is the primary source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from pig farming, which in turn accounts for 18% of the total global GHG emissions from the livestock industry. In this review, GHG emissions (N2O and CH4 emissions in particular) from individual pig manure (PGM) management practices (European practises in particular) are systematically analyzed and discussed. These manure management practices include manure storage, land application, solid/liquid separation, anaerobic digestion, composting and aerobic wastewater treatment. The potential reduction in net GHG emissions by changing and optimising these techniques is assessed. This review also identifies key research gaps in the literature including the effect of straw covering of liquid PGM storages, the effect of solid/liquid separation, and the effect of dry anaerobic digestion on net GHG emissions from PGM management. In addition to identifying these research gaps, several recommendations including the need to standardize units used to report GHG emissions, to account for indirect N2O emissions, and to include a broader research scope by conducting detailed life cycle assessment are also discussed. Overall, anaerobic digestion and compositing to liquid and solid fractions are best PGM management practices with respect to their high GHG mitigation potential.