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In-vitro method and model to estimate methane emissions from liquid manure management on pig and dairy farms in four countries

Petersen, Søren O. ; Ma, Chun ; Hilgert, Julio E. ; Mjöfors, Kristina ; Sefeedpari, Paria ; Amon, Barbara ; Aarnink, André ; Francó, Balázs ; Dragoni, Federico and Groenestein, Karin , et al. (2024) In Journal of Environmental Management 353.
Abstract

Methane (CH4) emissions from manure management on livestock farms are a key source of greenhouse gas emissions in some regions and for some production systems, and the opportunities for mitigation may be significant if emissions can be adequately documented. We investigated a method for estimating CH4 emissions from liquid manure (slurry) that is based on anaerobic incubation of slurry collected from commercial farms. Methane production rates were used to derive a parameter of the Arrhenius temperature response function, lnA', representing the CH4 production potential of the slurry at the time of sampling. Results were used for parameterization of an empirical model to estimate annual emissions with... (More)

Methane (CH4) emissions from manure management on livestock farms are a key source of greenhouse gas emissions in some regions and for some production systems, and the opportunities for mitigation may be significant if emissions can be adequately documented. We investigated a method for estimating CH4 emissions from liquid manure (slurry) that is based on anaerobic incubation of slurry collected from commercial farms. Methane production rates were used to derive a parameter of the Arrhenius temperature response function, lnA', representing the CH4 production potential of the slurry at the time of sampling. Results were used for parameterization of an empirical model to estimate annual emissions with daily time steps, where CH4 emissions from individual sources (barns, outside storage tanks) can be calculated separately. A monitoring program was conducted in four countries, i.e., Denmark, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands, during a 12-month period where slurry was sampled to represent barn and outside storage on finishing pig and dairy farms. Across the four countries, lnA' was higher in pig slurry compared to cattle slurry (p < 0.01), and higher in slurry from barns compared to outside storage (p < 0.01). In a separate evaluation of the incubation method, in-vitro CH4 production rates were comparable with in-situ emissions. The results indicate that lnA' in barns increases with slurry age, probably due to growth or adaptation of the methanogenic microbial community. Using lnA' values determined experimentally, empirical models with daily time steps were constructed for finishing pig and dairy farms and used for scenario analyses. Annual emissions from pig slurry were predicted to be 2.5 times higher than those from cattle slurry. Changing the frequency of slurry export from the barn on the model pig farm from 40 to 7 d intervals reduced total annual CH4 emissions by 46 %; this effect would be much less on cattle farms with natural ventilation. In a scenario with cattle slurry, the empirical model was compared with the current IPCC methodology. The seasonal dynamics were less pronounced, and annual CH4 emissions were lower than with the current methodology, which calls for further investigations. Country-specific models for individual animal categories and point sources could be a tool for assessing CH4 emissions and mitigation potentials at farm level.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Dairy cattle, Empirical model, Finishing pigs, Manure management, Methane emission
in
Journal of Environmental Management
volume
353
article number
120233
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • pmid:38330838
  • scopus:85184136019
ISSN
0301-4797
DOI
10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120233
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c7fe7131-2afe-4706-806b-1c5a57879d69
date added to LUP
2024-03-12 13:01:48
date last changed
2024-04-23 17:36:46
@article{c7fe7131-2afe-4706-806b-1c5a57879d69,
  abstract     = {{<p>Methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) emissions from manure management on livestock farms are a key source of greenhouse gas emissions in some regions and for some production systems, and the opportunities for mitigation may be significant if emissions can be adequately documented. We investigated a method for estimating CH<sub>4</sub> emissions from liquid manure (slurry) that is based on anaerobic incubation of slurry collected from commercial farms. Methane production rates were used to derive a parameter of the Arrhenius temperature response function, lnA', representing the CH<sub>4</sub> production potential of the slurry at the time of sampling. Results were used for parameterization of an empirical model to estimate annual emissions with daily time steps, where CH<sub>4</sub> emissions from individual sources (barns, outside storage tanks) can be calculated separately. A monitoring program was conducted in four countries, i.e., Denmark, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands, during a 12-month period where slurry was sampled to represent barn and outside storage on finishing pig and dairy farms. Across the four countries, lnA' was higher in pig slurry compared to cattle slurry (p &lt; 0.01), and higher in slurry from barns compared to outside storage (p &lt; 0.01). In a separate evaluation of the incubation method, in-vitro CH<sub>4</sub> production rates were comparable with in-situ emissions. The results indicate that lnA' in barns increases with slurry age, probably due to growth or adaptation of the methanogenic microbial community. Using lnA' values determined experimentally, empirical models with daily time steps were constructed for finishing pig and dairy farms and used for scenario analyses. Annual emissions from pig slurry were predicted to be 2.5 times higher than those from cattle slurry. Changing the frequency of slurry export from the barn on the model pig farm from 40 to 7 d intervals reduced total annual CH<sub>4</sub> emissions by 46 %; this effect would be much less on cattle farms with natural ventilation. In a scenario with cattle slurry, the empirical model was compared with the current IPCC methodology. The seasonal dynamics were less pronounced, and annual CH<sub>4</sub> emissions were lower than with the current methodology, which calls for further investigations. Country-specific models for individual animal categories and point sources could be a tool for assessing CH<sub>4</sub> emissions and mitigation potentials at farm level.</p>}},
  author       = {{Petersen, Søren O. and Ma, Chun and Hilgert, Julio E. and Mjöfors, Kristina and Sefeedpari, Paria and Amon, Barbara and Aarnink, André and Francó, Balázs and Dragoni, Federico and Groenestein, Karin and Gyldenkærne, Steen and Herrmann, Christiane and Hutchings, Nicholas J. and Kristensen, Ib S. and Liu, Jing and Olesen, Jørgen E. and Rodhe, Lena}},
  issn         = {{0301-4797}},
  keywords     = {{Dairy cattle; Empirical model; Finishing pigs; Manure management; Methane emission}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{02}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Journal of Environmental Management}},
  title        = {{In-vitro method and model to estimate methane emissions from liquid manure management on pig and dairy farms in four countries}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120233}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120233}},
  volume       = {{353}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}