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A Snapshot of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from a Cattle Feedlot
Author(s) -
Bai Mei,
Flesch Thomas K.,
McGinn Sean M.,
Chen Deli
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq2015.06.0278
Subject(s) - feedlot , greenhouse gas , manure , environmental science , nitrous oxide , beef cattle , methane , livestock , manure management , zoology , environmental engineering , agronomy , ecology , biology
Beef cattle feedlots emit large amounts of the greenhouse gases (GHG) methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O), as well as ammonia (NH 3 ), which contributes to N 2 O emission when NH 3 is deposited to land. However, there is a lack of simultaneous, in situ, and nondisturbed measurements of the major GHG gas components from beef cattle feedlots, or measurements from different feedlot sources. A short‐term campaign at a beef cattle feedlot in Victoria, Australia, quantified CH 4 , N 2 O, and NH 3 emissions from the feedlot pens, manure stockpiles, and surface run‐off pond. Open‐path Fourier transform infrared (OP‐FTIR) spectrometers and open‐path lasers (OP‐Laser) were used with an inverse‐dispersion technique to estimate emissions. Daily average emissions of CH 4 , N 2 O, and NH 3 were 132 (± 2.3 SE), 0, and 117 (± 4.5 SE) g animal −1 d −1 from the pens and 22 (± 0.7 SE), 2 (± 0.2 SE), and 9 (± 0.6 SE) g animal −1 d −1 from the manure stockpiles. Emissions of CH 4 and NH 3 from the run‐off pond were less than 0.5 g animal −1 d −1 . Extrapolating these results to the feedlot population of cattle across Australia would mean that feedlots contribute approximately 2% of the agricultural GHG emissions and 2.7% of livestock sector emissions, lower than a previous estimate of 3.5%. Core Ideas Open‐path spectroscopy/inverse‐dispersion technique is applied in this study. Quantifies CH 4 , N 2 O, and NH 3 emissions from a large‐scale, intensive feedlot. Investigates emission contributions from pens, manure stockpiles, and run‐off ponds. Discusses the diurnal variation in CH 4 , N 2 O, and NH 3 emissions. Estimates the total GHG emissions from the whole‐feedlot.