Measuring Livestock CH4 Emissions with the Laser Methane Detector: A Review

Sorg, Diana

doi:10.3390/methane1010004

Cited by 15 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 44 publications

(198 reference statements)

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“…The Greenfeed system (C-Lock Inc., Rapid City, USA) may be more useful for in situ measurements for stall-feeding systems (e.g., intensive and smallholder mixed crop-livestock) (53). We currently do not consider the laser methane detector method to be suitable for developing EFs, but this approach could be useful for ranking mitigation options (69). Ongoing advances that increase the accuracy of laser methane detector could reduce the costs of enteric CH 4 measurements and make this method more attractive for SSA (70).…”

Section: Discussion and Future Directions Enteric Ch 4 Emissions-pros...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Research Progress on Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Livestock in Sub-Saharan Africa Falls Short of National Inventory Ambitions

et al. 2022

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Livestock are an important source of livelihoods in agricultural systems in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), while also being the largest source of national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in most African countries. As a consequence, there is a critical need for data on livestock GHG sources and sinks to develop national inventories, as well as conduct baseline measurements and intervention testing to mitigate GHG emissions and meet ambitious national climate goals. Our objective was to review studies on GHG emissions from livestock systems in SSA, as well as soil carbon storage in livestock-dominated systems (i.e., grasslands and rangelands), to evaluate best current data and suggest future research priorities. To this end, we compiled studies from SSA that determined emission factors (EFs) for enteric methane and manure emissions, along with studies on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in SSA. We found that there has been limited research on livestock GHG emissions and SOC relative to national ambitions for climate change mitigation in SSA. Enteric methane emission factors (EFs) in low productivity cattle systems may be lower than IPCC Tier 1 default EFs, whereas small ruminants (i.e. sheep and goats) had higher EFs compared to IPCC Tier 1 EFs. Manure EFs were equal to or lower than IPCC Tier 1 EFs for deposited manure (while grazing), manure applied as fertilizer, and manure management. SOC stocks for grasslands and rangelands in SSA show broad agreement with IPCC estimates, but there was a strong geographic bias and many studies did not report soil type, bulk density, or SOC stocks at >30 cm depth. In general, the largest data gaps included information for manure (quantity, quality, management), small ruminants, agropastoral/pastoralist systems, and in general from West Africa. Future research should focus on filling major data gaps on locally appropriate mitigation interventions and improving livestock activity data for developing Tier 2 GHG inventories in SSA. At the science-policy interface, all parties would benefit from enhanced coordination within the research community and between researchers and African governments to improve Tier 2 inventories and harmonize measurement for mitigation in livestock systems in SSA.

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Section: Discussion and Future Directions Enteric Ch 4 Emissions-pros...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Research Progress on Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Livestock in Sub-Saharan Africa Falls Short of National Inventory Ambitions

et al. 2022

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“…It also does not require an external power supply. As a result, it is reasonably inexpensive to employ in a wide range of experimental and commercial situations [ 27 ]. Researchers have further developed and evaluated the measurement, refined the analysis of data obtained with the LMD, and applied the LMD in studies on genetic analyses [ 28 ], [ 29 ], nutrition and feed efficiency [ 30 , 31 ], and the physiological status of animals [ 29 ], as well as to characterize different husbandry systems [ 32 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship between Reticulorumen Parameters Measured in Real Time and Methane Emission and Heat Stress Risk in Dairy Cows

Antanaitis

Anskienė

Rapaliutė³

et al. 2022

Animals

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The objective of this study was to investigate a connection between CH4 emissions and reticulorumen pH and temperature. During the experiment, we registered the following parameters: reticulorumen pH (pH), reticulorumen temperature (RR temp.), reticulorumen temperature without drinking cycles, ambient temperature, ambient relative humidity, cow activity, heat index, temperature–humidity index (THI), and methane emissions (CH4). The experimental animals were divided into two groups based on the reticulorumen pH: 1. pH < 6.22 and 2. pH 6.22–6.42. We found that cows assigned to the second pH class had higher (46.18%) average values for methane emissions (p < 0.01). For the other indicators, higher average values were detected in cows of the first pH class, RR temperature (2.80%), relative humidity (20.96%), temperature–humidity index (2.47%) (p < 0.01), and temperature (3.93%) (p < 0.05), which were higher compared to cows of the second pH class. Reticulorumen pH was highly negatively correlated with THI and temperature (r = −0.667 to 0.717, p < 0.001) and somewhat negatively with heat index, relative humidity, and RR temperature (r = −0.536, p < 0.001; r = −0.471 to 0.456, p < 0.01). Cows with a higher risk of heat stress had a higher risk of lower reticulorumen pH.

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“…The higher CH 4 concentrations during eructation can be differentiated from the lower concentrations during respiration. An additional limitation is a correct distance the device should be from the animal ( Sorg, 2022 ) to avoid contamination from the neighboring animal. The major disadvantage of the technique is that similarly to sniffers, only concentration and not flux are measured.…”

Section: Measurements Using Animal-based Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantification of methane emitted by ruminants: a review of methods

Tedeschi

Abdalla

Álvarez

et al. 2022

Journal of Animal Science

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The contribution of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ruminant production systems varies between countries and between regions within individual countries. The appropriate quantification of GHG emissions, specifically methane (CH4), has raised questions about the correct reporting of GHG inventories and, perhaps more importantly, how best to mitigate CH4 emissions. This review documents existing methods and methodologies to measure and estimate CH4 emissions from ruminant animals and the manure produced therein over various scales and conditions. Measurements of CH4 have frequently been conducted in research settings using classical methodologies developed for bioenergetic purposes, such as gas exchange techniques (respiration chambers, headboxes). While very precise, these techniques are limited to research settings as they are expensive, labor-intensive, and applicable only to a few animals. Head-stalls, such as the GreenFeed system, have been used to measure expired CH4 for individual animals housed alone or in groups in confinement or grazing. This technique requires frequent animal visitation over the diurnal measurement period and an adequate number of collection days. The tracer gas technique can be used to measure CH4 from individual animals housed outdoors, as there is a need to ensure low background concentrations. Micrometeorological techniques (e.g., open-path lasers) can measure CH4 emissions over larger areas and many animals, but limitations exist, including the need to measure over more extended periods. Measurement of CH4 emissions from manure depends on the type of storage, animal housing, CH4 concentration inside and outside the boundaries of the area of interest, and ventilation rate, which is likely the variable that contributes the greatest to measurement uncertainty. For large-scale areas, aircraft, drones, and satellites have been used in association with the tracer flux method, inverse modeling, imagery, and lidar, but research is lagging in validating these methods. Bottom-up approaches to estimating CH4 emissions rely on empirical or mechanistic modeling to quantify the contribution of individual sources (enteric and manure). In contrast, top-down approaches estimate the amount of CH4 in the atmosphere using spatial and temporal models to account for transportation from an emitter to an observation point. While these two estimation approaches rarely agree, they help identify knowledge gaps and research requirements in practice.

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Measuring Livestock CH4 Emissions with the Laser Methane Detector: A Review

Cited by 15 publications

References 44 publications

Research Progress on Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Livestock in Sub-Saharan Africa Falls Short of National Inventory Ambitions

Research Progress on Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Livestock in Sub-Saharan Africa Falls Short of National Inventory Ambitions

Relationship between Reticulorumen Parameters Measured in Real Time and Methane Emission and Heat Stress Risk in Dairy Cows

Quantification of methane emitted by ruminants: a review of methods

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