Methane and carbon dioxide ratio in excreted air for quantification of the methane production from ruminants

Madsen, Jørgen Steen; Bjerg, Bjarne; Hvelplund, T.; Weisbjerg, M.R.; Lund, Peter

doi:10.1016/j.livsci.2010.01.001

Cited by 167 publications

(215 citation statements)

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“…However, the major part of expired CO 2 production arises from respiration energy metabolism of the animal (Madsen et al, 2010). The CH 4 to CO 2 ratio as a daily average roughly follows the CH 4 production as a fraction of GE intake.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Methane production and diurnal variation measured in dairy cows and predicted from fermentation pattern and nutrient or carbon flow

Brask

Weisbjerg

Hellwing

et al. 2015

Animal

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Many feeding trials have been conducted to quantify enteric methane (CH 4 ) production in ruminants. Although a relationship between diet composition, rumen fermentation and CH 4 production is generally accepted, the efforts to quantify this relationship within the same experiment remain scarce. In the present study, a data set was compiled from the results of three intensive respiration chamber trials with lactating rumen and intestinal fistulated Holstein cows, including measurements of rumen and intestinal digestion, rumen fermentation parameters and CH 4 production. Two approaches were used to calculate CH 4 from observations: (1) a rumen organic matter (OM) balance was derived from OM intake and duodenal organic matter flow (DOM) distinguishing various nutrients and (2) a rumen carbon balance was derived from carbon intake and duodenal carbon flow (DCARB). Duodenal flow was corrected for endogenous matter, and contribution of fermentation in the large intestine was accounted for. Hydrogen (H 2 ) arising from fermentation was calculated using the fermentation pattern measured in rumen fluid. CH 4 was calculated from H 2 production corrected for H 2 use with biohydrogenation of fatty acids. The DOM model overestimated CH 4 /kg dry matter intake (DMI) by 6.1% ( R 2 = 0.36) and the DCARB model underestimated CH 4 /kg DMI by 0.4% ( R 2 = 0.43). A stepwise regression of the difference between measured and calculated daily CH 4 production was conducted to examine explanations for the deviance. Dietary carbohydrate composition and rumen carbohydrate digestion were the main sources of inaccuracies for both models. Furthermore, differences were related to rumen ammonia concentration with the DOM model and to rumen pH and dietary fat with the DCARB model. Adding these parameters to the models and performing a multiple regression against observed daily CH 4 production resulted in R 2 of 0.66 and 0.72 for DOM and DCARB models, respectively. The diurnal pattern of CH 4 production followed that of rumen volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentration and the CH 4 to CO 2 production ratio, but was inverse to rumen pH and the rumen hydrogen balance calculated from 4 × (acetate + butyrate)/2 × (propionate + valerate). In conclusion, the amount of feed fermented was the most important factor determining variations in CH 4 production between animals, diets and during the day. Interactions between feed components, VFA absorption rates and variation between animals seemed to be factors that were complicating the accurate prediction of CH 4 . Using a ruminal carbon balance appeared to predict CH 4 production just as well as calculations based on rumen digestion of individual nutrients.Keywords: modelling methane, VFA, enteric fermentation, carbon, dairy cow Implications Methane (CH 4 ) is a potent greenhouse gas that arises from feed fermentation in the rumen and large intestine of ruminant animals. The quantity of CH 4 depends on daily feed intake, feed chemical composition and feed rumen digestibility. Therefore, the present paper was ...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Several attempts have been made to estimate CH 4 in dairy cows from feed composition and feed intake (e.g. Mills et al, 2001) or by making use of methods such as spot breath sampling using CH 4 to CO 2 ratio (Madsen et al, 2010) as an indication of daily CH 4 production.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Methane production and diurnal variation measured in dairy cows and predicted from fermentation pattern and nutrient or carbon flow

Brask

Weisbjerg

Hellwing

et al. 2015

Animal

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“…exhaled air, flatus, and fermentation of manure or bedding, etc.) and diurnal variation in the ratio of CH 4 :CO 2 due to differences in animal activity and fermentation rate associated with meal size and feeding frequency (Madsen et al, 2010). Therefore, as with the GreenFeed system, sampling protocols should include sufficient numbers and sampling times to account for diurnal and postprandial variation in CH 4 and CO 2 emissions, and thereby predict daily CO 2 emission.…”

Section: Short-term Measurements Using Automated Head Chambers (Greenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of current in vivo measurement techniques for quantifying enteric methane emission from ruminants

Hammond

Crompton

Bannink

et al. 2016

Animal Feed Science and Technology

136

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Review of current in vivo measurement techniques for quantifying enteric methane emission from ruminants.Animal Feed Science and Technology http://dx.doi.org/10. 1016/j.anifeedsci.2016.05.018 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. techniques based on short-term measurements of gas concentrations in samples of exhaled air. This includes automated head chambers (e.g. the GreenFeed system), the use of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) as a marker, and (handheld) laser CH 4 detection. Each of the techniques are compared and assessed on their capability and limitations, followed by methodology recommendations. It is concluded that there is no "one size fits all" method for measuring CH 4 emission by individual animals. Ultimately, the decision as to which method to use should be based on the experimental objectives and resources available. However, the need for high throughput methodology e.g. for screening large numbers of animals for genomic studies, does not justify the use of methods that are inaccurate. All CH 4 measurement techniques are subject to experimental variation and random errors. Many sources of variation must be considered when measuring CH 4 concentration in exhaled air samples without a quantitative or at least regular collection rate, or use of a marker to indicate (or adjust) for the proportion of exhaled CH 4 sampled. Consideration of the number and timing of measurements relative to diurnal patterns of CH 4 emission and respiratory exchange are important, as well as consideration of feeding patterns and associated patterns of rumen 4 fermentation rate and other aspects of animal behaviour. Regardless of the method chosen, appropriate calibrations and recovery tests are required for both method establishment and routine operation. Successful and correct use of methods requires careful attention to detail, rigour, and routine self-assessment of the quality of the data they provide.

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“…Subsequently, Lassen et al (2012) made a 3-day study of the CO 2 :CH 4 ratio of 93 cows sampled during milking, finding a mean repeatability of the ratio from Holstein and Jersey cows of 0.37 and 0.33, respectively. Madsen et al (2010) used body weight and milk production as predictors of CO 2 production for housed cows and used the CO 2 : CH 4 ratio in exhaust gases from the barn to calculate a mean DMP. In a recent study, Waghorn et al (2013) found a close association between DMP estimated from predictive equations on the basis of milk production and body weight change, with emissions measured by the GreenFeed system but no measures of CO 2 were reported.…”

Section: Portable Accumulation Chambers (Pac)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Applicability of short-term emission measurements for on-farm quantification of enteric methane

Hegarty

2013

Animal

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A short term enteric methane emission measurement is not identical to a measure of daily methane production (DMP) made in a respiration chamber (RC). While RC curtail most variation except that from quantity and composition of feed supplied, all shortterm measurements contain additional sources of variation. The points of difference can include measurement time(s) relative to feeding, feed intake before measurement, animal behaviour in selection of diet and level of activity before measurement. For systems where a short-term emission measurement is made at the same time in the daily feeding cycle (e.g. during twice-daily milking) scaling up of short-term emission rates to estimate DMP is feasible but the scaling coefficient(s) will be diet dependent. For systems such as GreenFeed where direct emission rates are measured on occasion throughout day and night, no scaling up may be required to estimate DMP. For systems where small numbers of emission measures are made, and there is no knowledge of prior feed intake, such as for portable accumulation chambers, scaling to DMP is not currently possible. Even without scaling up to DMP, short-term measured emission rates are adequate for identifying relative emission changes induced by mitigation strategies and could provide the data to support genetic selection of ruminants for reduced enteric emissions.Keywords: ruminant, greenhouse gas, enteric emissions, methane, measurement ImplicationsThe capacity to estimate daily methane production (DMP) or relative methane production of ruminants on the basis of short-term emission measurements will enable verification of enteric emission budgets and the development and verification of abatement techniques. This will enable more rapid deployment of abatement strategies and verify the emissions data used in carbon accounting transactions. Short-term emissions measurements are uniquely placed to accelerate methane abatement by genetic selection of livestock, which requires emission data for a large number of animals. IntroductionThe majority of understanding of animal energetics and daily methane production (DMP) has been obtained from indirect calorimetry using open or closed circuit respiration chambers (RC) (Blaxter, 1962;Blaxter and Clapperton, 1965). Increasingly, however, there is a demand to measure ruminant methane emissions in animals within their natural production environment. This demand arises from the need to verify inventories, verify mitigation claims on-farm and measure large numbers of animals to determine the genetic parameters of methane output (Chagunda et al., 2009;McEwan et al., 2012). Although mobile respiration hood systems exist for on-farm use (Kelly et al., 1994), and RC studies using thousands of animals are now being conducted (Arthur et al., 2012), this is extremely slow and expensive. Robinson et al. (2010) identified that short-term measures of methane production were strongly correlated with DMP and can be used to obtain short-term on-farm emission data without need for an RC. This paper summarise...

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Methane and carbon dioxide ratio in excreted air for quantification of the methane production from ruminants

Cited by 167 publications

References 7 publications

Methane production and diurnal variation measured in dairy cows and predicted from fermentation pattern and nutrient or carbon flow

Methane production and diurnal variation measured in dairy cows and predicted from fermentation pattern and nutrient or carbon flow

Review of current in vivo measurement techniques for quantifying enteric methane emission from ruminants

Applicability of short-term emission measurements for on-farm quantification of enteric methane

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