The Correlation between Ammonia Emissions and Bedding Materials in a Cow House

Abstract

Because ammonia from livestock production may substantially contribute to environmental pollution, emissions from all possible sources (housing systems, manure storage, manure application, outside grazing) should be reduced. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of different bedding materials on ammonia emissions in a cow house. By applying a combination of four treatment types: treatment <TEX>$1-T_1$</TEX> (sawdust (50%)+sawdust pellets (50%)), treatment <TEX>$2-T_2$</TEX> (sawdust (50%)+corn stalk pellets (50%)), treatment <TEX>$3-T_3$</TEX> (sawdust (100%)), and treatment <TEX>$4-T_4$</TEX> (sawdust (50%)+palm kernel meal pellets(50%)) as bedding materials in a cow house, the effects of such treatments on ammonia flux were assessed in approximately one month. The magnitude of ammonia emissions (mg <TEX>$m^{-2}\;min^{-1}$</TEX>) varied in the following order: <TEX>$T_1$</TEX>(2.226), <TEX>$T_4$</TEX>(2.052), <TEX>$T_2$</TEX>(1.845), and <TEX>$T_3$</TEX>(1.712). The patterns of pH had a decreasing trend for all bedding treatments during the experiment, and there was no significant relationship with ammonia flux. The results reveal that the most important factor influencing ammonia emissions is the physical structure of the bedding types.