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Agriculture
Special Issues
Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Livestock Production
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Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Livestock Production

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Farm Animal Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 April 2024) | Viewed by 3950

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Claudia Arcidiacono

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Interests: livestock buildings; ammonia and GHG emissions; precision livestock farming; sensors; monitoring; measuring; modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Sabrina Hempel

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department Engineering for Livestock Management, Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB), Max-Eyth-Allee 100, 14469 Potsdam, Germany
Interests: livestock emissions; naturally ventilated housing; air exchange; airflow and dispersion pattern; barn climate; time series analysis; mathematic modelling; sustainable livestock production; climate change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Provvidenza Rita D'Urso

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), Building and Land Engineering Section, University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia, 100-95123 Catania, Italy
Interests: livestock buildings; ammonia and GHG emissions; precision livestock farming; monitoring; measuring; barn management; statistical analyses
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The expected increase in meat and dairy product consumption due to population growth makes livestock housing, as a source of gaseous emissions, an increasing concern, due to its contribution to climate change. The generation rates of this kind of pollution vary with a number of variables such as outside climate conditions, housing systems, livestock building structure and equipment, ventilation systems, manure handling systems, growing cycles, animal diets, animal species, and farmer’s barn management. Therefore, it is of high scientific relevance to investigate those relations and improve strategies for reducing GHG emissions from livestock buildings by applying smart farming technologies.

This Special Issue welcomes original contributions from researchers, including reviews and original research, that apply innovative methods and technologies, and address issues of scientific relevance in the following broad areas: measurement techniques, protocols, and methodological frameworks regarding the quantification of GHG emissions from livestock systems; methods, techniques, and strategies for reducing GHG emissions from livestock production systems

Prof. Dr. Claudia Arcidiacono
Dr. Sabrina Hempel
Provvidenza Rita D'Urso
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • emission monitoring
  • measurement techniques
  • modelling
  • livestock management
  • mitigation strategies

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 5155 KiB  
Article
Preliminary Results on the Use of Straw Cover and Effective Microorganisms for Mitigating GHG and Ammonia Emissions in Pig Slurry Storage Systems
by Martire Angélica Terrero Turbí, Melisa Gómez-Garrido, Oumaima El bied, José Gregorio Cuevas Bencosme and Ángel Faz Cano
Agriculture 2024, 14(10), 1788; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14101788 - 11 Oct 2024
Viewed by 915
Abstract
Spain has been the largest pork producer in the EU in recent years, leading to significant pig slurry (PS) production that requires proper management to prevent environmental impacts. The objectives of this study were to quantify greenhouse gas (GHG) and ammonia emissions and [...] Read more.
Spain has been the largest pork producer in the EU in recent years, leading to significant pig slurry (PS) production that requires proper management to prevent environmental impacts. The objectives of this study were to quantify greenhouse gas (GHG) and ammonia emissions and to characterize the PS in storage pond systems. A straw cover pond (SP) and addition of effective microorganisms (EMs) in a biological pond (BP) were used to treat the slurries. During two periods (autumn and spring), PS was characterized and GHG (CO2, CH4, N2O) and NH3 emissions were measured with a dynamic chamber. After 5 weeks of storage, BP achieved a reduction of 96% for CO2, 98% for CH4 and 59% for NH3 compared to the control pond (CP) in spring, while SP presented a 74% reduction for CO2 in autumn, and 60% and 97% reductions for CH4 and NH3, respectively, in spring. Additionally, the PS samples showed a decreasing trend for EC, dry matter, COD, BOD5, total N, NH4+-N, Org.-N, NO3−-N, and PO43− during both seasons. This preliminary study shows promise in reducing GHG/NH3 emissions and improving PS properties, but further replication is recommended. Varying straw cover thickness, optimizing EM dose, and a pH reduction may enhance outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Livestock Production)
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15 pages, 1632 KiB  
Article
Carbon Footprint of an Extensively Raised, Low-Productivity Sheep Population
by Carolina Reyes-Palomo, Cipriano Díaz-Gaona, Santos Sanz-Fernández, Isabel Muñoz-Cobos, Eduardo Aguilera and Vicente Rodríguez-Estévez
Agriculture 2024, 14(8), 1304; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14081304 - 7 Aug 2024
Viewed by 884
Abstract
Extensive traditional livestock systems currently face various threats, leading to their disappearance. An example of these extensive livestock farming systems is the production of the Lojeña sheep breed in the Sierra de Loja (Granada, Spain), with a census of 24,511 ewes in 2021. [...] Read more.
Extensive traditional livestock systems currently face various threats, leading to their disappearance. An example of these extensive livestock farming systems is the production of the Lojeña sheep breed in the Sierra de Loja (Granada, Spain), with a census of 24,511 ewes in 2021. The aim of this work is to calculate the carbon footprint (CF) of this local breed in this region. This study is based on data collected from 27 Lojeña sheep farms producing weaned lambs (≤14 kg, 25 farms), fattened lambs (≈25 kg, 7 farms), culled animals (24 farms) and greasy wool (27 farms). Most of these farms (78%) were organically (ORG) certified and seven were conventionally (CONV) managed. The analysed farms represent 93% of the total number of farms producing Lojeña sheep in the Sierra de Loja. The CF was calculated with a “cradle to farm gate” approach. The average C footprints were 27.5 ± 6.8 kg CO2eq kgLW−1 for weaned lambs, 21.8 ± 8.5 kg CO2eq kgLW−1 for fattened lambs, 4.1 ± 2.6 kg CO2eq kgLW−1 for culled animals and 2.2 ± 0.6 kg CO2eq kg−1 for greasy wool, with a not statistically different average CF in ORG than in CONV farms. Enteric fermentation represents the main source of emissions (>60%) in all the products, and external feeding (including transport, and emissions from producing the feed) represents the second one (>10%). There was an inverse relationship between CF and productivity (lambs sold ewe−1 year−1), leading to lower footprints on those farms with the higher productivity. A direct relationship between CF and stocking rate (livestock units ha−1) has been identified. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Livestock Production)
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Review

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26 pages, 3490 KiB  
Review
Ammonia Emissions and Building-Related Mitigation Strategies in Dairy Barns: A Review
by Serena Vitaliano, Provvidenza Rita D’Urso, Claudia Arcidiacono and Giovanni Cascone
Agriculture 2024, 14(7), 1148; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14071148 - 15 Jul 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1129
Abstract
In this systematic review, the PRISMA method was applied to examine publications from the last two decades that have investigated the noxious gaseous emissions from dairy barns. The aim was to analyse the outcomes from literature studies estimating the quantities of polluting gases [...] Read more.
In this systematic review, the PRISMA method was applied to examine publications from the last two decades that have investigated the noxious gaseous emissions from dairy barns. The aim was to analyse the outcomes from literature studies estimating the quantities of polluting gases produced in dairy barns, with a specific focus on ammonia (NH3) emissions. Various studies, among those reviewed, have used mixed effects models, mass balance approaches and dispersion methods, revealing significant variability due to different experimental protocols and environmental contexts. Key challenges include the lack of standardised measurement techniques and the limited geographical coverage of research, particularly in climatically extreme regions. This review also explores proposed methods to reduce the associated effects through mitigation strategies. Estimation of NH3 emissions is significantly influenced by the complex interactions between several factors; including animal management practices, such as controlling animal behavioural activities; manure management, like utilising practices for floor manure removal; the type of structure housing the animals, whether it is naturally or mechanically ventilated; and environmental conditions, such as the effects of temperature, wind speed, relative humidity, and ventilation rate on NH3 release in the barn. These influential components have been considered by researchers and targeted mitigation strategies have been identified. Despite growing attention to the issue, gaps in the scientific literature were identified and discussed, particularly regarding the analysis of mitigation strategies and their long-term impacts (i.e., environmental, economic and productivity-wise). The purpose of this review is to help improve research into sustainable agricultural practices and technological innovations, which are fundamental to reducing NH3 emissions and improving air quality in agricultural environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Livestock Production)
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