Simple SummaryGHGs emissions are relevant in evaluating environmental impact of farming systems. Methane (CH4) produced by enteric fermentation accounts for half of all anthropogenic emissions of GHGs in Uruguay, where ruminant production is based on year round grazing of forages. Here we compared milk production and CH4 emissions by dairy cows grazing two contrasting mixed pastures (rich in legumes or rich in grasses) using the SF6 tracer technique adapted to collect breath samples over 5-days periods. There were no differences in milk or CH4 production between the contrasting pastures, probably because of the high herbage allowance that enabled selective grazing by cows.AbstractUnderstanding the impact of changing pasture composition on reducing emissions of GHGs in dairy grazing systems is an important issue to mitigate climate change. The aim of this study was to estimate daily CH4 emissions of dairy cows grazing two mixed pastures with contrasting composition of grasses and legumes: L pasture with 60% legumes on Dry Matter (DM) basis and G pasture with 75% grasses on DM basis. Milk production and CH4 emissions were compared over two periods of two weeks during spring using eight lactating Holstein cows in a 2 × 2 Latin square design. Herbage organic matter intake (HOMI) was estimated by chromic oxide dilution and herbage organic matter digestibility (OMD) was estimated by faecal index. Methane emission was estimated by using the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) tracer technique adapted to collect breath samples over 5-day periods. OMD (0.71) and HOMI (15.7 kg OM) were not affected by pasture composition. Milk production (20.3 kg/d), milk fat yield (742 g/d) and milk protein yield (667 g/d) were similar for both pastures. This may be explained by the high herbage allowance (30 kg DM above 5 cm/cow) which allowed the cows to graze selectively, in particular in grass sward. Similarly, methane emission expressed as absolute value (368 g/d or 516 L/d) or expressed as methane yield (6.6% of Gross Energy Intake (GEI)) was not affected by treatments. In conclusion, at high herbage allowance, the quality of the diet selected by grazing cows did not differ between pastures rich in legumes or rich in grasses, and therefore there was no effect on milk or methane production.

The thermal decomposition of trifluoromethoxycarbonyl peroxy nitrate, CF3OC(O)O2NO2, has been studied between 278 and 306 K at 270 mbar total pressure using He as a diluent gas. The pressure dependence of the reaction was also studied at 292 K between 1.2 and 270 mbar total pressure. The rate constant reaches its high‐pressure limit at 70 mbar. The first step of the decomposition leads to CF3OC(O)O2 and NO2 formation, that is, CF3OC(O)O2NO2 + M ⇆ CF3OC(O)O2 + NO2 + M (k1, k−1). Reaction (−1) was prevented by adding an excess of NO that reacts with the peroxy radical intermediate and leads to carbonyl fluoride (CF2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and small quantities of CF3OC(O)O2C(O)OCF3. The kinetics of reaction (1) was determined by following the loss of CF3OC(O)O2NO2 via IR spectroscopy. The temperature dependence of the decomposition follows the equation k1(T) = 1.0 × 1016 e−((111±3)/(RT)) for the exponential term expressed in kJ mol−1. The values obtained for the kinetic parameters such as k1 at 298 K, the activation energy (Ea), and the preexponential factor (A) are compared with literature data for other acyl peroxy nitrates. The atmospheric thermal stability of CF3OC(O)O2NO2 and its dependence with altitude is discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 40: 831–838, 2008

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