Greenhouse gas balance of mountain dairy farms as affected by grassland carbon sequestration

Salvador, Sara; Corazzin, Mirco; Romanzin, Alberto; Bovolenta, S.

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.03.052

Cited by 42 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Grazing lands have a high potential for carbon sequestration [23,75,76], which can, at least partially, mitigate the GHG emissions from ruminant production systems [77]. Extensive livestock grazing systems had a lower GHG emission intensity if soil carbon uptake had been included in the emission inventory [15,65,[78][79][80][81], particularly for low-input or small-scale grazing systems [20,81]. Therefore, land-use decisions should be informed by all environmental factors, negative impacts-not only GHG emissions-and ecosystem services.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Beef Grazing Systems in Semi-Arid Rangelands of Central Argentina

Barrantes

Privitello

et al. 2018

Sustainability

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The livestock sector can be a major contributor to the mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Within the sector, beef production produces the largest proportion of the livestock sector's direct emissions. The objective of this study was to assess the on-farm GHG emissions in semi-arid rangelands in Argentina and to identify the relationship between emissions and current farm management practices. A survey recorded detailed information on farm management and characteristics. Assessments of GHG emissions were based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Tier 2 protocols. The relationship between farm management and GHG emissions were identified using general linear models. Cluster analysis was used to identify groups of farms that differed from others in emissions and farm characteristics. Emissions per product sold were low on farms that had improved livestock care management, rotational grazing, received technical advice, and had high animal and land productivities. Emissions per hectare of farmland were low on farms that had low stocking rates, a low number of grazing paddocks, little or no land dedicated to improved pastures and forage crops, and low land productivity. Our results suggest that the implementation of realistic, relatively easy-to-adopt farming management practices has considerable potential for mitigating the GHG emissions in the semi-arid rangelands of central Argentina.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Beef Grazing Systems in Semi-Arid Rangelands of Central Argentina

Barrantes

Privitello

et al. 2018

Sustainability

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“…It could be observed that small scale dairy farms in the Alpine area were mainly family businesses. Salvador et al [25] observed an average number of lactating cows between 8.7 and 40.6 in the Alpine systems, whereas [47] found an average of 14.0 lactating dairy cows per farm, and [15] observed on average 12.8 dairy cows per dairy farm in the Italian Alps. In terms of milk production, a significant difference was found between the systems, as shown in Table 2.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular, we used 0.85 kg per liter as a standard value for diesel density. The emission factor for Italy was 3.13 kg CO 2 -eq for burning 1 kg of diesel [9,25]. Regarding electricity, the emission factor was set at 0.47 kg CO 2 -eq per kWh using national emission factors [42].…”

Section: Emission Calculations For Carbon Footprint Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Soils are the largest carbon reservoir of the terrestrial carbon cycle. However, there is no official method to estimate soil carbon for livestock farms and only a few studies have investigated this factor [24,25]. Different agricultural practices and land use can have significant effects on carbon stored in the soil.…”

Section: Soil Carbon Sequestrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both abandonment of traditional farms or their transformation into intensive enterprises leads to a loss of open areas and forest re-growth [17], a damage of biodiversity [18][19][20], and a rural area undergoing radical socio-economic changes [21][22][23]. Only a few studies took soil carbon sequestration from grassland into account [24][25][26]. These grasslands may act as a carbon sink, with soil carbon sequestration of about 1 t CO 2 ha −1 year −1 having been described [27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of Feed Concentrate Intake on the Environmental Impact of Dairy Cows in an Alpine Mountain Region Including Soil Carbon Sequestration and Effect on Biodiversity

et al. 2020

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Several studies on the environmental impacts of livestock enterprises are based on the application of life cycle assessments (LCA). In Alpine regions, soil carbon sequestration can play an important role in reducing environmental impacts. However, there is no official methodology to calculate this possible reduction. Biodiversity plays an important role in the Alpine environment and is affected by human activities, such as cattle farming. Our aim was to estimate the carbon footprint (CF) of four different dairy production systems (different in breeds and feeding intensity) by using the LCA approach. The present study included 44 dairy Alpine farms located in the autonomous province of Bolzano in northern Italy. Half of the farms (n = 22) kept Alpine Grey and the other half (n = 22) Brown Swiss cattle. Within breeds, the farms were divided by the amount of concentrated feed per cow and day into high concentrate (HC) and low concentrate (LC). This resulted in 11 Alpine Grey low concentrate (AGLC) farms feeding an average amount of 3.0 kg concentrated feed/cow/day and 11 Alpine Grey high concentrate (AGHC) farms with an average amount of 6.3 kg concentrated feed/cow/day. Eleven farms kept Brown Swiss cows with an average amount of 3.7 kg concentrated feed/cow/day (BSLC) and another 11 farms feeding on average 7.6 kg concentrated feed/cow/day (BSHC). CF for the four systems was estimated using the LCA approach. The functional unit was 1 kg of fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM). Furthermore, two methodologies have been applied to estimate soil carbon sequestration and effect on biodiversity. The system with the lowest environmental impact in terms of CF was BSHC (1.14 kg CO2-eq/kg of FPCM), while the most impactful system was the AGLC group (1.55 kg CO2-eq/kg of FPCM). Including the CF reduction due to soil carbon sequestered from grassland, it decreased differently for the two applied methods. For all four systems, the main factor for CF was enteric emission, while the main pollutant was biogenic CH4. Conversely, AGLC had the lowest impact when the damage to biodiversity was considered (damage score = 0.41/kg of FPCM, damage to ecosystem diversity = 1.78 E-07 species*yr/kg FPCM). In comparison, BSHC had the greatest impact in terms of damage to biodiversity (damage score = 0.56/kg of FPCM, damage to ecosystem diversity = 2.49 E-07 species*yr/kg FPCM). This study indicates the importance of including soil carbon sequestration from grasslands and effects on biodiversity when calculating the environmental performance of dairy farms.

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Application of some trees/shrubs in ruminant feeding: a review

et al. 2018

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Greenhouse gas balance of mountain dairy farms as affected by grassland carbon sequestration

Cited by 42 publications

References 23 publications

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Beef Grazing Systems in Semi-Arid Rangelands of Central Argentina

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Beef Grazing Systems in Semi-Arid Rangelands of Central Argentina

Effect of Feed Concentrate Intake on the Environmental Impact of Dairy Cows in an Alpine Mountain Region Including Soil Carbon Sequestration and Effect on Biodiversity

Application of some trees/shrubs in ruminant feeding: a review

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