Methane Emission Factor in Italian Mediterranean Buffalo According to Production Management

摘要

The environmental impact of greenhouse gases caused by livestock farms plays a fundamental role due to the implications and environmental consequences that livestock practices entail, affecting the stability of the entire ecosystem connected to them, especially as a consequence of the growing demand for products of animal origin. The aim of this work was to quantify the CH 4 emissions factor in lactating buffaloes by comparing four different types of livestock management: family, conventional, organic and sustainable. To determine the enteric CH 4 emissions from buffalo, information about animal production and farm management was analyzed, and the CH 4 emission factor was calculated using the IPCC Tier 2 model. ANOVA was conducted to evaluate significant differences between the farms; Pearson’s correlation was used to evaluate the relationship between parameters. In a conventional farm, the CH 4 emission factor for buffalo was 27.69 kg CH 4 /head/yr compared to 22.77 and 21.61 kg CH 4 /head/yr respectively for organic and family-run. These data may also depend on the higher protein and fiber content in the administered unifeed. Furthermore, the ratio of enteric emissions factor of CH 4 / gross energy intake ratio reflected these data (12.04 vs 10.93 vs 10.16 vs 10.65 for conventional, organic, sustainable, and family-run farms, respectively).