Agriculture accounts for approximately 11% of China?s national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Through adoption of region-specific best management practices, Chinese farmers can contribute to emission reduction while maintaining food security for its large population (>1300 Million). This paper presents the outcome of a bottom?up assessment to quantify technical potential of mitigation measures for Chinese agriculture using meta-analysis of data from 240 publications for cropland, 67 publications for grassland and 139 publications for livestock, and provides the reference scenario for the cost analysis of identified mitigation measures. Management options with greatest mitigation potential for rice, or rice-based cropping systems are conservation tillage, controlled irrigation; replacement of urea with ammonium sulphate, nitrogen (N) inhibitor application, reduced N fertilizer application, integrated rice-fish-duck farming and biochar application. A 15% reduction in current average synthetic N fertilizer application for rice in China i.e., 231 kg N ha?1, would result in 12% decrease in direct soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. Combined application of chemical and organic fertilizer, conservation tillage, biochar application and reduced N application are possible measures that can reduce overall GHG emissions from upland cropping systems. Conventional fertilizer inputs for greenhouse vegetables are more than 2?8 times the optimal crop nutrient demand. A 20?40% reduction in N fertilizer application to vegetable crops can reduce N2O emissions by 32?121%, while not negatively impacting the yield. One of the most important mitigation measures for agricultural grasslands could be conversion of low yielding cropland, particularly on slopes, to shrub land or grassland, which is also a promising option to decrease soil erosion. In addition, grazing exclusion and reduced grazing intensity can increase SOC sequestration and decrease overall emissions while improving the largely degraded grasslands. For livestock production, where poor quality forage is commonly fed, improving grazing management and diet quality can reduce methane (CH4) emissions by 11% and 5%, on average. Dietary supplements can reduce CH4 emissions further, with lipids (15% reduction) and tannins or saponins (11% reduction) showing the greatest potential. We also suggest the most economically cost-effective mitigation measures, drawing on related work on the construction of marginal abatement cost curves for the sector.authorsversionPeer reviewe

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Mitigating methane losses from cattle has economic as well as environmental benefits. The aim of this paper is to review the current approaches in relation to associated advantages and disadvantages and future options to reduce enteric methane emission from cattle. Current technologies can be broadly grouped into those that increase productivity of the animal (improved nutrition strategies) so that less methane is produced per unit of meat or milk, and those that directly modify the rumen fermentation so that less methane is produced in total. Data suggest that many of these practices are not appropriate for long term mitigation of methane emissions in ruminants because of their constraints. So it is necessity to develop long term strategies in suppressing methane production. An integrated research investigating animal, plant, microbe and nutrient level strategies would offer a long term solution of methane production. Genetic selection of animals, vaccination, probiotics, prebiotics and plant improvement are the most promising options of all the future approaches discussed. These approaches will reduce enteric methane production without any hazard to animal or environment.

Although the scheme of metabolic pathways involved in the production of the major end products has been described, the dynamic profile of metabolites of anaerobic fungi co-cultured with methanogens is limited, especially for the intermediate metabolites. In the present study, the fermentation of the co-culture of Piromyces sp. F1 and Methanobrevibacter thaueri on glucose was investigated. The presence of methanogens shortened the growth lag time of anaerobic fungi and enhanced the total gas production. The occurrence of the maximum cell dry weight and the disappearance of most of the substrate were observed at 24 h for the co-culture and 48 h for the fungal mono-culture. In the co-culture, hydrogen was detected at a very low level during fermentation, and formate transitorily accumulated at 24 h and disappeared at 48 h, resulting in an increase of pH. Acetate was higher during the fermentation in the co-culture (P < 0.05), while lactate and ethanol were higher only in the initial stage of fermentation (P < 0.05). After 48 h, lactate in the mono-culture became much higher than that in the co-culture (P < 0.05), and ethanol tended to remain the same in both cultures. Moreover, malate tended to be exhausted in the co-culture, while it accumulated in the mono-culture. Citrate was also detected in both co-culture and mono-culture. Collectively, these results suggest that methanogen enhanced the malate pathway and weakened the lactate pathway of anaerobic fungus.

Anaerobic fungi are potent lignocellulose degraders, but have not yet been exploited in this capacity, largely owing to their poor metabolic characterization. In the current study, a time course of fermentation was conducted to study the effect of the co-cultured methanogens on xylose metabolism by anaerobic fungi. The fermentation end-products from anaerobic fungal monoculture were H (6.7 ml), CO (65.7 ml), formate (17.90 mM), acetate (9.00 mM), lactate (11.89 mM), ethanol, and malate after 96 h fermentation. Compared to the monoculture, the end-products of co-culture shifted to more CO (71.8 ml) and acetate (15.20 mM), methane (14.9 ml), less lactate (5.28 mM), and hardly detectable formate and H at the end of fermentation. After 48 h, accumulated formate was remarkably consumed by co-cultured methanogens, accompanied by significantly increased acetate, CO and pH, and decreased lactate and malate. Xylose utilization, in both cultures, was similar during fermentation. However, the relative flux of carbon in hydrogenosomes in the co-culture was higher than that in the monoculture. In conclusion, the co-culture with methanogens enhanced "energy yields" of anaerobic fungi by removing the accumulated formate, decreased the metabolism in cytosol, for example, the lactate pathway, and increased the metabolism in hydrogenosomes, for example, the acetate pathway.