scholarly journals The Effect of Diet and Farm Management on N2O Emissions from Dairy Farms Estimated from Farm Data

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 654
Author(s):  
Simona Menardo ◽  
Giacomo Lanza ◽  
Werner Berg

The N2O emissions of 21 dairy farms in Germany were evaluated to determine the feasibility of an estimation of emissions from farm data and the effects of the farm management, along with possible mitigation strategies. Emissions due to the application of different fertilisers, manure storage and grazing were calculated based on equations from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change) and German emission inventory. The dependence of the N2O emissions on fertiliser type and quantity, cultivated crops and diet composition was assessed via correlation analysis and linear regression. The N2O emissions ranged between 0.11 and 0.29 kg CO2eq per kilogram energy-corrected milk, with on average 60% resulting from fertilisation and less than 30% from fertiliser storage and field applications. The total emissions had a high dependence on the diet composition; in particular, on the grass/maize ratio and the protein content of the animal diet, as well as from the manure management. A linear model for the prediction of the N2O emissions based on the diet composition and the fertilisation reached a predictive power of R2 = 0.89. As a possible mitigation strategy, the substitution of slurry for solid manure would reduce N2O emissions by 40%. Feeding cows maize-based diets instead of grass-based diets could reduce them by 14%.

2020 ◽  
Vol 82 (6) ◽  
pp. 1025-1030
Author(s):  
Maxence Plouviez ◽  
Benoit Guieysse

Abstract Microalgae can synthesise the ozone depleting pollutant and greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). Consequently, significant N2O emissions have been recorded during real wastewater treatment in high rate algal ponds (HRAPs). While data scarcity and variability prevent meaningful assessment, the magnitude reported (0.13–0.57% of the influent nitrogen load) is within the range reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for direct N2O emissions during centralised aerobic wastewater treatment (0.016–4.5% of the influent nitrogen load). Critically, the ability of microalgae to synthesise N2O challenges the IPCC's broad view that bacterial denitrification and nitrification are the only major cause of N2O emissions from wastewater plants and aquatic environments receiving nitrogen from wastewater effluents. Significant N2O emissions have indeed been repeatedly detected from eutrophic water bodies and wastewater discharge contributes to eutrophication via the release of nitrogen and phosphorus. Considering the complex interplays between nitrogen and phosphorus supply, microalgal growth, and microalgal N2O synthesis, further research must urgently seek to better quantify N2O emissions from microalgae-based wastewater systems and eutrophic ecosystems receiving wastewater. This future research will ultimately improve the prediction of N2O emissions from wastewater treatment in national inventories and may therefore affect the prioritisation of mitigation strategies.


2014 ◽  
Vol 50 (8) ◽  
pp. 1233-1246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mette S. Carter ◽  
Peter Sørensen ◽  
Søren O. Petersen ◽  
Xiuzhi Ma ◽  
Per Ambus

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (Supplement_4) ◽  
pp. 133-134
Author(s):  
Liliana Fadul ◽  
Steven Wangen ◽  
Victor E Cabrera

Abstract With increasing use of new technologies in dairy farms, vast amounts of data are generated. Each data stream has its own frequency, diversity, type and quantity of data. While data diversity is beneficial to the farmer, it also makes more difficult data integration of different data streams. Even though different data streams are poorly linked to each other, there is an opportunity to add value to the farm management and decision-making processes by standardizing and integrating the different data sources available at the farm. Therefore, it is imperative to develop a system that can collect, integrate, manage, and analyze on- and off-farm data in real-time for practical and relevant actions: The Dairy Brain project. This is a trans-disciplinary research and extension project that engages multi-disciplinary scientists, dairy farmers, and industry professionals. We are using the state-of-the-art database management system from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for High Throughput Computing to develop our Agricultural Data Hub (AgDH) that connects and analyzes cow and herd data on a permanent basis. This involves cleaning and normalizing the data as well as allowing data retrieval on demand.The Dairy Brain, a suite of predictive and prescriptive analytics modules that leverages the AgDH to provide insight to the management of dairy operations and serve as an exemplar of an ecosystem of connected services. Therefore, decision support tools are developed to add value to the data and improve farm management at different levels.


2016 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 7783-7792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deicy Catalina Guerra Garcia ◽  
Jairo Alexander Osorio Saraz ◽  
Rolando Barahona Rosales

The aim of this study was to estimate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) generated by the agricultural activities carried out in the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley (AMVA), located in Medellin - Colombia. A TIER 1 approach of the methodology of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC was followed. Emissions of GHG from cropland, aggregate sources and non-CO2 emissions from land were estimated and analysis of the uncertainty of activity data and emission factors were made. The estimated total emission was 63.1 and 66 Gg CO2 eq for 2009 and 2011, respectively. The greatest contribution to greenhouse gases in agricultural production was the application of nitrogen to soils in the form of synthetic and organic fertilizers, which was associated with direct and indirect N2O emissions. The main sources of uncertainty were those derived from the activity data.


2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 160 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Redding ◽  
R. Lewis ◽  
P. R. Shorten

The nitrogen (N) excreted at intensive livestock operations is vulnerable to volatilisation, and, subsequently, may form a source of indirect nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. The present study simultaneously investigated volatilisation and deposition of N at a beef feedlot, semi-continuously over a 129-day period. These data were examined relative to pen manure parameters, management statistics and emission-inventory calculation protocols. Volatilisation measurements were conducted using a single, heated air-sampling inlet, centrally located in a feedlot pen area, with real time concentration analysis via cavity ring-down spectroscopy and backward Lagrangian stochastic (bLS) modelling. Net deposited mineral-N was determined via two transects of soil-deposition traps, with samples collected and re-deployed every 2 weeks. Total volatilised ammonia amounted to 210 tonnes of NH3-N (127 g/animal.day), suggesting that the inventory volatilisation factor probably underestimated volatilisation in this case (inventory, 30% of excreted N; 65 g N volatilised/animal.day; a value of ~60% of excreted N is indicated). Temperature contrast between the manure and air was observed to play a significant role in the rate of emission (R2 = 0.38; 0.46 Kendall’s tau; P < 0.05). Net deposition within 600 m of the pen boundary represented only 1.7% to 3% of volatilised NH4+-N, between 3.6 and 6.7 tonnes N. Beyond this distance, deposition approached background rates (~0.4 kg N/ha.year).


SOIL ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katelyn A. Congreves ◽  
Trang Phan ◽  
Richard E. Farrell

Abstract. Understanding the production pathways of potent greenhouse gases, such as nitrous oxide (N2O), is essential for accurate flux prediction and for developing effective adaptation and mitigation strategies in response to climate change. Yet there remain surprising gaps in our understanding and precise quantification of the underlying production pathways – such as the relationship between soil moisture and N2O production pathways. A powerful, but arguably underutilized, approach for quantifying the relative contribution of nitrification and denitrification to N2O production involves determining 15N2O isotopomers and 15N site preference (SP) via spectroscopic techniques. Using one such technique, we conducted a short-term incubation where N2O production and 15N2O isotopomers were measured 24 h after soil moisture treatments of 40 % to 105 % water-filled pore space (WFPS) were established for each of three soils that differed in nutrient levels, organic matter, and texture. Relatively low N2O fluxes and high SP values indicted nitrification during dry soil conditions, whereas at higher soil moisture, peak N2O emissions coincided with a sharp decline in SP, indicating denitrification. This pattern supports the classic N2O production curves from nitrification and denitrification as inferred by earlier research; however, our isotopomer data enabled the quantification of source partitioning for either pathway. At soil moisture levels < 53 % WFPS, the fraction of N2O attributed to nitrification (FN) predominated but thereafter decreased rapidly with increasing soil moisture (x), according to FN=3.19-0.041x, until a WFPS of 78 % was reached. Simultaneously, from WFPS of 53 % to 78 %, the fraction of N2O that was attributed to denitrification (FD) was modelled as FD=-2.19+0.041x; at moisture levels of > 78 %, denitrification completely dominated. Clearly, the soil moisture level during transition is a key regulator of N2O production pathways. The presented equations may be helpful for other researchers in estimating N2O source partitioning when soil moisture falls within the transition from nitrification to denitrification.


2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Alan Rotz ◽  
Jouke Oenema ◽  
Herman van Keulen

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