Reducing Ammonia Emissions from Dairy Cattle Production via Cost-Effective Manure Management Techniques in China

Abstract

This study analyzed ammonia reduction potential and related costs and benefits of several ammonia emission reduction technologies applicable for dairy production from cattle in China. Specifically, these included diet manipulation, manure acidification, manure/slurry covers and solid manure compaction. Ammonia emissions for China were estimated using the GAINS and NUFER models, while mitigation potential of technologies was determined from laboratory studies. Ammonia reduction potentials from dairy production in China, ranged from 0.8 to 222 Gg NH 3 yr-1 for the selected technologies. Implementation costs ranged from a saving of 15 US$ kg-1 NH 3 abated to expenditure of 45 US$ kg-1 NH 3 abated, while the total implementation costs varied from saving of 1.5 billion US$ in 2015 to expenditure of a similar size. Best NH 3 reduction technology was manure acidification, while the most cost-effective option was diet optimization with lower crude protein input. For most abatement options, material costs were the critical element of overall costs. The fertilizer value of manure could partly offset the implementation cost of the options tested. Furthermore, benefits due to avoided health damage, as a result of reducing NH 3 emissions, could turn all abatement options (except for manure compaction) to being profitable on the scale of a national economy.

Mitigation potential of global ammonia emissions and related health impacts in the trade network

“…(6) The MTFR scenario from GAINS model: we also applied the MTFR scenario by 2050 calculated from the GAINS (Greenhouse gas-Air pollution Interactions and Synergies) model (freely online from the website: https:// gains.iiasa.ac.at/models/gains_models3.html), which is developed by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) 36 . The GAINS model has been widely applied for assessing strategies of ammonia emission abatement 73,74 . The MTFR scenario in GAINS model assumes implementation of best available measures ignoring political or economic constraints but considering technical applicability that might vary regionally.…”

Nitrogen Footprint of a Recycling System Integrated with Cropland and Livestock in the North China Plain

“…The coupling between the crop production system and the pig production system allows them to obtain the resources they need, such as manure and feed, which may replace some of the purchased fertilizer and premix inputs. In addition, the coupling of the crop-livestock system is a means of tackling nitrogen pollution in China [ 52 , 53 ]. Results showed that farms in cooperative crop-livestock systems had lower Nr emissions (21–40%) compared to those in decoupled specialized livestock systems [ 54 ].…”

Effect of source and level of forage in the diet on in vitro ammonia emission from manure of Holstein and Jersey dairy cows

“…Among NH 3 abatement strategies, acidification was reported as having the greatest effect, whereas dietary manipulation was the most cost-effective way to reduce emissions from the dairy manure chain (Zhang et al, 2019). Among dietary strategies, reduction of dietary CP is the most effective way to abate emissions due to lowering urinary N relative to fecal N (Weiss et al, 2009;Aguerre et al, 2010) because urinary N is the main substrate for NH 3 formation from manure (Weiss et al, 2009).…”