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Methanogenesis and possibilities of reducing it in ruminants
Published in Lucjan Pawłowski, Zygmunt Litwińczuk, Guomo Zhou, The Role of Agriculture in Climate Change Mitigation, 2020
W. Sawicka-Zugaj, W. Chabuz, Z. Litwińczuk
The methane emission also decreases when the feeding level increases. This is mainly due to the rapid passage of feed from the rumen to further sections of the digestive tract and an increased rate of passage through the entire digestive tract. The access of microbes to organic matter is then reduced, which in turn slows down fermentation in the rumen (Mathison et al. 1998, Hegarty 2001). Dairy cows are the most demanding in terms of feeding level, with a requirement for nutrients that far exceeds their physiological capacity for intake. For this reason, properly balanced concentrates are used in the diet of these animals. These contain less fibre, which promotes the production of propionic acid, thereby reducing the CH4 emissions (Martin et al. 2010). However, it should be noted that in the long term, low fibre content in feed disrupts the rumen function, leading to a serious metabolic disease in the form of subacute or acute acidosis (Owens et al. 1998).
Air pollution and climate change
Published in Abhishek Tiwary, Ian Williams, Air Pollution, 2018
In general, farm animals produce a lot of methane. Cattle and sheep are adapted to eat grass and other forage materials which have a high content of plant cell walls made up from structural carbohydrates. The rumen, which is the first stomach, acts as a fermentation chamber in which a microbial population of bacteria, fungi and protozoa break down the ingested carbohydrate into soluble digestible materials. The rumen bacteria generate methane as a waste product, which is lost by eructation (belching). One cow emits about 70 kg methane per year, one sheep about 8 kg, and one pig about 1.5 kg. Cattle and sheep emit about 70% and 20% respectively of the total animal emission. Each cow or sheep also creates around 15 or 1.2 t yr−1 respectively of excreta, which eventually returns on to the land as dung, manure or slurry.
Greenhouse gases and climate change
Published in Abhishek Tiwary, Jeremy Colls, Air Pollution, 2017
In general, farm animals produce a lot of methane. Cattle and sheep are adapted to eat grass and other forage materials which have a high content of plant cell walls made up from structural carbohydrates. The rumen, which is the first stomach, acts as a fermentation chamber in which a microbial population of bacteria, fungi and protozoa break down the ingested carbohydrate into soluble digestible materials. The rumen bacteria generate methane as a waste product, which is lost by eructation (belching). One cow emits about 70 kg methane per year, one sheep about 8 kg, and one pig about 1.5 kg. Cattle and sheep emit about 70 and 20% respectively of the total animal emission. Each cow or sheep also creates around 15 or 1.2 t yr–1, respectively, of excreta, which eventually returns on to the land as dung, manure or slurry. A more detailed breakdown of methane emissions by source between 1990 and 2006 from the UK is given in Figure 12.13. In recent years waste landfill sites, livestock and agriculture have been the most dominant sources. However, against the 1990 base scenarios the corresponding emissions from landfill have fallen by 61% and emissions from agriculture by 13%. In the case of landfills this is associated with two factors – one, reduction in the level of landfill wastes through enhanced waste management practices adopted by the local authorities; two, introduction of well-capped landfills where the methane is recovered as an energy resource.
Reflecting upon sensor-based data collection to improve decision making
Published in Journal of Decision Systems, 2020
Claudia Loebbecke, Irina Boboschko
The project team placed sensors all over the cow’s barn constantly transmitting data on its temperature, light, and humidity as well as the cow’s movements. Additional three sensors at the body of each cow measured their daily number of steps they take. Another sensor on the cow’s tail shed light on the calving process. Finally, they implemented two sensors in each cow’s rumen to measure the cow’s food intake, amount of milk produced, and udder health. Known from herd management, the project team made the cow swallow a bolus, which is a large pill, for collecting additional data (Figure 2). It provided data on the cow’s body temperature, rumen pH value, drinking behaviour (frequency and volume), and digestion movements.
Use of biochar as feed supplements for animal farming
Published in Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 2021
Ka Yan Man, Ka Lai Chow, Yu Bon Man, Wing Yin Mo, Ming Hung Wong
Ruminants are mammals in which the stomach has four compartments, namely the rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum. The abomasum is the “true” stomach, where the digestion process is the same as in monogastric animals. Ruminants can utilize non-protein nitrogenous materials; utilize complex forms of carbohydrates such as cellulose and hemicellulose, and convert forage and green grasses into valuable protein sources (Bath, 2018; Zervas & Tsiplakou, 2011).