Abstract
The livestock sector can be a major contributor to the mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Within the sector, beef production produces the largest proportion of the livestock sector’s direct emissions. The objective of this study was to assess the on-farm GHG emissions in semi-arid rangelands in Argentina and to identify the relationship between emissions and current farm management practices. A survey recorded detailed information on farm management and characteristics. Assessments of GHG emissions were based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Tier 2 protocols. The relationship between farm management and GHG emissions were identified using general linear models. Cluster analysis was used to identify groups of farms that differed from others in emissions and farm characteristics. Emissions per product sold were low on farms that had improved livestock care management, rotational grazing, received technical advice, and had high animal and land productivities. Emissions per hectare of farmland were low on farms that had low stocking rates, a low number of grazing paddocks, little or no land dedicated to improved pastures and forage crops, and low land productivity. Our results suggest that the implementation of realistic, relatively easy-to-adopt farming management practices has considerable potential for mitigating the GHG emissions in the semi-arid rangelands of central Argentina.
Highlights
Livestock production is an important source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide
This study assessed the relationships between GHG emissions and characteristics and the management practices of commercial farms in extensive beef systems that are based on the natural rangelands in the semi-arid Central Region of Argentina
The results suggest that the implementation of realistic, relatively easy-to-adopt farming management practices has a considerable potential to mitigate GHG emissions
Summary
Livestock production is an important source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide. The livestock sector contributes 14.5% of global GHG emissions [1]. The livestock sector will have to be a major contributor in the mitigation of GHG emissions and in the improvement of global food security [5]. Beef production contributes the majority of emissions, producing 41% of the livestock sector’s direct emissions [6]. Methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) are the largest contributors to global livestock emissions in CO2 equivalent (CO2e) per year [1]. Due to the negative relation between the efficiency of production and GHG emissions per output produced, the greatest mitigation potential lies in ruminant systems that operate with a low productivity (e.g., in South Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa) [1]
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