Organic Farming as a Strategy to Reduce Carbon Footprint in Dehesa Agroecosystems: A Case Study Comparing Different Livestock Products

The greenhouse gas emissions from meat sheep production contribute double of household consumption in a Eurasian meadow steppe

With the rapid development of the economy, household activities have emerged as an important source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, making them a crucial focal point for research in the pursuit of sustainable development and carbon emission reduction. Hulunber, as a typical steppe region in eastern Eurasia, is representative of studying the GHG emissions from household ranches, which are the basic production units in this region. In this paper, based on survey data of 2018 and 2019, we quantified and assessed GHG emissions from household ranches by combining life cycle assessment (LCA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) approaches, with LCA to define household ranches system boundary and SEM to determine the key driving factors of emissions. The results showed that GHG emissions of meat sheep live weight was 23.54 kg CO2-eq/kg. The major contributor to household GHG emissions was enteric methane (55.23 %), followed by coal use (20.80 %) and manure management systems (9.16 %), and other contributing factors (14.81 %). The SEM results indicated that the GHG emissions from household ranches were derived primarily by economic level, while the economic level was significantly affected by income. This study also found a significant positive and linear correlation between household GHG emissions and the number of meat sheep (R2 = 0.89, P < 0.001). The GHG emissions from meat sheep production (67.52 %) were double times greater than household livelihood consumption (32.48 %). These findings emphasized the importance of reducing emissions from meat sheep production and adjusting the energy mix of household livelihood, contributing to the establishment of a low-carbon household livelihood operation.

Energetic and Monetary Analysis of Efficiency in Family-Owned Dairy Goat Production Systems in Andalusia (Southern Spain)

The family-owned dairy goat sector in Andalusia presents great diversity. Taking into account the particularities of their economic strategies, which are focused on generating net value added and a stable long-term remuneration for family labor, this work aims to expand the scarce existing knowledge on the energetic and economic profiles of the different caprine management systems in a context of climate and energy crisis. For this purpose, twenty-one farms, representatives of the four typologies of the Andalusian dairy goat system, were monitored for one year: pastoral systems, grazing systems with high feed supply, indoor systems with associated crops, and indoor systems without associated crops. Technical-economic information was obtained that allowed the calculation of energy and economic indicators. In terms of socialized output, the differences found were due to the energy derived from milk sales, which was clearly lower in pastoral systems. The higher proportion of energy output obtained from manure with respect to edible products (milk and meat) highlights the importance of the former in energetic terms. High values for external inputs are found in the intensive group (111.22 GJ LSU-1), while the lowest results correspond to the pastoral group (36.96 GJ LSU-1). The main external input is the energy proceeding from purchased feed, which accounts for over 79% of the total external energy input in all four groups. The highest energy efficiency corresponds to the pastoral group, which is also the most efficient one in the use of non-renewable energy to produce milk and meat. Additionally, the level of eco-efficiency is higher in pastoral systems. Common Agricultural Policy funds contribute to increasing the remuneration of family work in pastoral systems, assimilating it to the rest of the systems. Therefore, intensification does not imply an absolute monetary advantage in all cases, while extensification can be remunerative for family-owned dairy farming.

Does Carbon Footprint Play a Relevant Role in Food Consumer Behaviour? A Focus on Spanish Beef

Carbon footprint has become a reference indicator of the environmental impact of food production. Governments are increasingly demanding a trend towards low-carbon-footprint production in order to reduce the impact on climate change. In this sense, the study of consumers' preferences and assessment of products from the perspective of their carbon footprint is crucial to achieve a green and circular economy. This paper specifically attempted to assess consumer preference and willingness to pay for beef that has been carbon-footprint-labelled as an attribute. In order to attain this objective, a choice experiment was designed and applied to a total of 362 Spanish consumers. The results revealed a positive preference towards beef produced in low-carbon-footprint systems. In addition, the segmentation of these consumers revealed the existence of a group of consumers who prioritise environmental impact over product price.

Comparison of farm-level greenhouse gas emissions in transhumance and semi-intensive sheep production systems in continental rangelands

Despite their predominance worldwide, few studies have been conducted to look at the impact of sheep production systems relying on transhumance practices in arid and continental conditions, on farm-level greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Using Turkey as an example, this paper examines on farm-level GHG emissions calculated for two contrasting sheep production systems under arid and continental climate conditions. Production and management data were obtained through face-to-face interviews carried out on 10 transhumance and 15 semi-intensive meat sheep farms in Turkey. A total of seven GHG emission estimates were then calculated for each farm with the Agricultural Resource Efficiency Calculator (AgRECalc©) tool; i) total Carbon Dioxide (CO2) from energy use (kg CO2e), ii) total Carbon Dioxide equivalent (CO2e) from methane (kg CO2e), iii) total CO₂e from nitrous oxide (kg CO₂e), iv) whole farm and enterprise CO₂e emissions (kg CO₂e), v) net emission from land use (kg CO₂e), vi) whole farm CO₂e emissions per kg of farm output (kg CO₂e/kg output), vii) product CO₂e emissions (meat): kg CO₂e / kg live weight, and viii) farm output (kg of sheep). Multivariate analyses (using R software) were carried out to compare both farm types and their respective carbon emissions. The total farm output per ewe was lower in the transhumance farms (7.4 kg/ewe) than in the semi-intensive farms (7.7 kg/ewe). The kg CO₂e per kg of output was also lower for the transhumance farms (46.2 kg CO₂e) than for the semi-intensive ones (56.5 kg CO₂e). This trend was similar for the amount of CO₂e per kg of live weight produced (20.8 kg and 25.4 kg for the transhumance and the semi-intensive farms, respectively). Despite overall net emissions from land use being greater on average for the transhumance farms, once measured per hectare, they were found to be lower than those for the semi-intensive farms. This study provides a reference point for different sheep production systems' GHG emission impact in continental rangelands in Turkey.

Full adoption of the most effective strategies to mitigate methane emissions by ruminants can help meet the 1.5 °C target by 2030 but not 2050

Agricultural methane emissions must be decreased by 11 to 30% of the 2010 level by 2030 and by 24 to 47% by 2050 to meet the 1.5 °C target. We identified three strategies to decrease product-based methane emissions while increasing animal productivity and five strategies to decrease absolute methane emissions without reducing animal productivity. Globally, 100% adoption of the most effective product-based and absolute methane emission mitigation strategy can meet the 1.5 °C target by 2030 but not 2050, because mitigation effects are offset by projected increases in methane. On a regional level, Europe but not Africa may be able to meet their contribution to the 1.5 °C target, highlighting the different challenges faced by high- and middle- and low-income countries.

To meet the 1.5 °C target, methane (CH₄) from ruminants must be reduced by 11 to 30% by 2030 and 24 to 47% by 2050 compared to 2010 levels. A meta-analysis identified strategies to decrease product-based (PB; CH₄ per unit meat or milk) and absolute (ABS) enteric CH₄ emissions while maintaining or increasing animal productivity (AP; weight gain or milk yield). Next, the potential of different adoption rates of one PB or one ABS strategy to contribute to the 1.5 °C target was estimated. The database included findings from 430 peer-reviewed studies, which reported 98 mitigation strategies that can be classified into three categories: animal and feed management, diet formulation, and rumen manipulation. A random-effects meta-analysis weighted by inverse variance was carried out. Three PB strategies—namely, increasing feeding level, decreasing grass maturity, and decreasing dietary forage-to-concentrate ratio—decreased CH₄ per unit meat or milk by on average 12% and increased AP by a median of 17%. Five ABS strategies—namely CH₄ inhibitors, tanniferous forages, electron sinks, oils and fats, and oilseeds—decreased daily methane by on average 21%. Globally, only 100% adoption of the most effective PB and ABS strategies can meet the 1.5 °C target by 2030 but not 2050, because mitigation effects are offset by projected increases in CH₄ due to increasing milk and meat demand. Notably, by 2030 and 2050, low- and middle-income countries may not meet their contribution to the 1.5 °C target for this same reason, whereas high-income countries could meet their contributions due to only a minor projected increase in enteric CH₄ emissions.

Effect of Suckling Management and Ewe Concentrate Level on Methane-Related Carbon Footprint of Lamb Meat in Sardinian Dairy Sheep Farming

Simple Summary

Suckling lamb meat is the secondary product of the Mediterranean traditional dairy sheep industry. Similar to the main production, i.e., milk, lamb meat contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG), whose main portion is represented by enteric methane produced by the lamb dams. Such an emission, although limited in quantitative terms, should be mitigated by appropriate feeding or compensation techniques. Among all the sources of variation of meat lamb emissions, sex of the lamb and type of lambing (single or twins) showed the largest effect.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to estimate the methane-linked carbon footprint (CF) of the suckling lamb meat of Mediterranean dairy sheep. Ninety-six Sarda dairy ewes, divided into four groups of 24 animals each, were assigned to 2 × 2 factorial design. The experiment included the suckling lamb feeding system: traditional (TS), in which lambs followed their mothers on pasture during grazing time, vs. separated (SS), in which lambs remained indoors, separated from their mothers during the grazing time. Each group was divided into high (HS) and low (LS) supplemented ewes (600 g/d vs. 200 g/d of concentrate). The estimated CH₄ emission of the ewes, calculated per kg of body weight (BW) gain of the lamb during the suckling period, was then converted to CO₂eq with multiplying factor of 25. The TS lambs showed lower methane-linked emissions than SS ones (p < 0.05). The sex of lambs affected their methane-linked CF, with males having lower (p < 0.05) values than females. Twins displayed much lower methane-linked CF than singles (4.56 vs. 7.30 kg of CO₂eq per kg of BW gained), whereas the level of supplementation did not affect greenhouse gases (GHG) emission. Interaction displayed lower and not-different GHG emissions for both indoor- and outdoor-reared twins. In conclusion, the methane-linked CF of the suckling lamb meat can be reduced by maintaining the traditional lamb rearing system and by improving flock prolificacy.

Environmental Impacts of Pig and Poultry Production: Insights From a Systematic Review

Pig and poultry production systems have reached high-performance levels over the last few decades. However, there is still room for improvement when it comes to their environmental sustainability. This issue is even more relevant due to the growing demand for food demand since this surplus food production needs to be met at an affordable cost with minimum impact on the environment. This study presents a systematic review of peer-reviewed manuscripts that investigated the environmental impacts associated with pig and poultry production. For this purpose, independent reviews were performed and two databases were constructed, one for each production system. Previous studies published in peer-reviewed journals were considered for the databases if the method of life cycle assessment (LCA) was applied to pig (pork meat) or poultry (broiler meat or table eggs) production to estimate at least the potential effects of climate change, measured as CO₂-eq. Studies considering the cradle-to-farm gate were considered, as well as those evaluating processes up to the slaughterhouse or processor gate. The pig database comprised 55 studies, while 30 publications were selected for the poultry database. These studies confirmed feeding (which includes the crop cultivation phase, manufacturing processes, and transportation) as the main contributor to the environmental impact associated with pig and poultry production systems. Several studies evaluated feeding strategies, which were indicated as viable alternatives to mitigate the environmental footprint associated with both production chains. In this study, precision feeding techniques are highlighted given their applicability to modern pig and poultry farming. These novel feeding strategies are good examples of innovative strategies needed to break paradigms, improve resource-use efficiency, and effectively move the current productive scenario toward more sustainable livestock systems.

Natural Carbon Sinks Linked to Pastoral Activity in S Spain: A Territorial Evaluation Methodology for Mediterranean Goat Grazing Systems

Exploring and developing new tools for the accounting and management of natural C sinks will provide a closer, more accurate option to remark the importance of such sinks in relation to livestock production, helping to support the persistence of some seriously endangered traditional, environmentally sustainable livestock farming. Following both precision and usability criteria, two main C sink databases covering the Andalusian region (S Spain) were developed from the Spanish Land Parcel Identification System (SIGPAC, coarse resolution) and the Spanish Information System on Land Cover (SIOSE, finer resolution) land use classes. Particular C sink factors based on growth rates for individual plant species were associated with detailed vegetation maps and, further, were linked to Land Use and Covers cartography across the region. In addition, eight ruminant farms were exhaustively studied in situ and used as a control. Results were compared with the obtained through the application of the developed C sink databases, and with the commonly used Petersen methodology. The sink capacity of vegetation associated with farms varied from 0.25 to 1.37 t CO2 ha−1 year−1, depending on the plant species composition and abundance. All the approaches showed significant differences from the control. C sink values were significantly higher when applying SIGPAC-based C sink database to farms, while values from the SIOSE and Petersen methodology approaches provided more moderate values, closer to the control. SIGPAC and Petersen approaches showed higher usability but presented lower precision due to a poor definition of plant cover. SIOSE-based C sink database provided suitable values able to be adapted to reality and used by farmers. In this regard, further research efforts to improve the adjustment of results and ease of use are required. The present approach means a methodological advance in the estimation of the C sink capacity associated with pastoral livestock farms, able to be incorporated into the CF calculation in contrasted areas worldwide, in the frame of the ‘eco-schemes’ being recently under development through the EU CAP.

Sustainability Assessment of Pasture-Based Dairy Sheep Systems: A Multidisciplinary and Multiscale Approach

This article describes a novel methodological approach for the integrated sustainability assessment of pasture-based dairy sheep systems. Most studies on livestock system sustainability focus on animal production, farm profitability, and mitigation strategies of greenhouse gas emissions. However, recent research indicates that pasture-based livestock farming also contributes positively to rural areas, and the associated increase in plant diversity promotes ecosystem functioning and services in natural and managed grasslands. Likewise, little attention has focused on how pasture-based livestock systems affect soil carbon changes, biodiversity, and ecotoxicity. Furthermore, the quality and safety of food products, particularly sheep milk and cheese, and socioeconomic issues such as cultural heritage and consumer behavior are often neglected in livestock system sustainability assessments. To improve the analysis of sustainability and adaptation strategies of livestock systems, we suggest a holistic approach that integrates indicators from diverse disciplines with complementary methods and models capable of capturing the complexity of these systems at multiple scales. A multidisciplinary perspective generates new indicators to identify critical trade-offs and synergies related to the resilience of dairy sheep livestock systems. A multiscale approach provides insights on the effects of socioeconomic and environmental changes associated with current dairy sheep grazing systems across multiple scales. The combined approach will facilitate the development and progressive implementation of novel management strategies needed to adapt pasture-based dairy sheep farms to changing conditions under future socioeconomic and environmental scenarios.

The role of the European small ruminant dairy sector in stabilising global temperatures: lessons from GWP* warming-equivalent emission metrics

Recent calls advocate that a huge reduction in the consumption of animal products (including dairy) is essential to mitigate climate change and stabilise global warming below the 1.5 and 2°C targets. The Paris Agreement states that to stabilise temperatures we must reach a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the second half of this century. Consequently, many countries have adopted overall GHG reduction targets (e.g. EU, at least 40% by 2030 compared to 1990). However, using conventional metric-equivalent emissions (CO2-e GWP100) as the basis to account for emissions does not result in capturing the effect on atmospheric warming of changing emission rates from short-lived GHG (e.g. methane: CH4), which are the main source of GHG emissions by small ruminants. This shortcoming could be solved by using warming-equivalent emissions (CO2-we, GWP*), which can accurately link annual GHG emission rates to its warming effect in the atmosphere. In our study, using this GWP* methodology and different modelling approaches, we first examined the historical (1990-2018) contribution of European dairy small ruminant systems to additional atmosphere warming levels and then studied different emission target scenarios for 2100. These scenarios allow us to envision the necessary reduction of GHG emissions from Europe's dairy small ruminants to achieve a stable impact on global temperatures, i.e. to be climatically neutral. Our analysis showed that, using this type of approach, the whole European sheep and goat dairy sector seems not to have contributed to additional warming in the period 1990-2018. Considering each subsector separately, increases in dairy goat production has led to some level of additional warming into the atmosphere, but these have been compensated by larger emission reductions in the dairy sheep sector. The estimations of warming for future scenarios suggest that to achieve climate neutrality, understood as not adding additional warming to the atmosphere, modest GHG reductions of sheep and goat GHG would be required (e.g. via feed additives). This reduction would be even lower if potential soil organic carbon (SOC) from associated pastures is considered.

Alternative Management Systems of Beef Cattle Manure for Reducing Nitrogen Loadings: A Case-Study Approach

Livestock manure is one of the main sources of agricultural nonpoint source pollution and poses a great threat to the environment and human health. Sustainable management of manure via recycling is an effective means to tackle the problem. Based on field interviews in China, multiple case studies were employed to investigate alternative manure management systems. Four conclusions arose. First, compost-based systems, product-based systems, substrate-based systems, and biogas-based systems were identified as four main types of manure management systems, with each possessing its success factors and risk factors. The adoption of a system was driven by various factors. Second, market-oriented operation was the dominant operation mechanism of all the manure management systems. Third, compared to direct application of manure to croplands, all the four manure management systems could reduce nitrogen loadings from livestock farms and lower their environmental effects. Among the systems, biogas-based systems could reduce nitrogen loadings to the greatest extent, followed by product-based systems and substrate-based systems, and then by compost-based systems. Lastly, integrated management of manure with mixed recycling systems is imperative for reducing its environmental effects, which can benefit from the increasing role of third-party entities in manure recycling. Policy implications were also discussed.

The Tapio Decoupling Principle and Key Strategies for Changing Factors of Chinese Urban Carbon Footprint Based on Cloud Computing

The expansion of Xi’an City has caused the consumption of energy and land resources, leading to serious environmental pollution problems. For this purpose, this study was carried out to measure the carbon carrying capacity, net carbon footprint and net carbon footprint pressure index of Xi’an City, and to characterize the carbon sequestration capacity of Xi’an ecosystem, thereby laying a foundation for developing comprehensive and reasonable low-carbon development measures. This study expects to provide a reference for China to develop a low-carbon economy through Tapio decoupling principle. The decoupling relationship between CO₂ and driving factors was explored through Tapio decoupling model. The time-series data was used to calculate the carbon footprint. The auto-encoder in deep learning technology was combined with the parallel algorithm in cloud computing. A general multilayer perceptron neural network realized by a parallel BP learning algorithm was proposed based on Map-Reduce on a cloud computing cluster. A partial least squares (PLS) regression model was constructed to analyze driving factors. The results show that in terms of city size, the variable importance in projection (VIP) output of the urbanization rate has a strong inhibitory effect on carbon footprint growth, and the VIP value of permanent population ranks the last; in terms of economic development, the impact of fixed asset investment and added value of the secondary industry on carbon footprint ranks third and fourth. As a result, the marginal effect of carbon footprint is greater than that of economic growth after economic growth reaches a certain stage, revealing that the driving forces and mechanisms can promote the growth of urban space.

Analysis of the Sustainability of Fattening Systems for Iberian Traditional Pig Production through a Technical and Environmental Approach

Simple Summary

Iberian traditional pig production has been linked to the use of the natural resources of the dehesa ecosystem. In the last decades, the Spanish livestock sector has experienced a significant transformation towards the intensification of livestock systems. The intensification of the system combined with the increased demand for high-quality Iberian products resulted in a greater demand for feedstuffs as inputs into the Iberian pig production system. For these reasons, the Iberian pig exploitation in the dehesa ecosystem should be studied considering economic and environmental criteria to identify strategies for more sustainable livestock production. From the analyses carried out, the relationship between livestock management and environmental values obtained has been determined. Iberian traditional pig production has room for improvement in terms of economic and environmental values. In order to achieve this, appropriate fattening strategies should be implemented to optimize the use of available resources and improve economic-environmental performance for sustainable development. The importance of exploring sustainable management on this animal system derives because a sustainable Iberian traditional pig production has an important role in maintaining the population in rural areas through livestock activity as an economic engine.

Abstract

At present, two types of fattening are carried out in Iberian traditional pig production. The montanera is the fattening system where fatteners are fed on acorns and pasture in the dehesa, and cebo de campo is the fattening where the pigs are fed on compound feed and natural resources, mainly pasture. The aim of this paper is to analyze Iberian fattening production from an economic and environmental approach in order to identify fattening strategies to increase the sustainability of this traditional livestock activity. Based on technical-economic and environmental variables, the differences between Iberian farms according to the types of fattening were determined using discriminant analysis techniques. The model based on environmental variables showed a greater predictive ability than that found in the model based on technical-economic variables. Consequently, environmental variables can be used as reference points to classify the Iberian farms according to the type of fattening. Furthermore, canonical correlation analysis allowed to study the relationships between both sets of variables, showing that environmental values had a strong correlation with technical-economic variables. The results of this study show that it is possible to improve the sustainability of Iberian traditional pig production through fattening strategies in both types of fattening.

A scenario-based analysis of the effect of carbon pricing on organic livestock farm performance: A case study of Spanish dehesas and rangelands

The current livestock farm production model is being questioned due to its excessive use of resources and impacts on the environment, and it has played a major role in climate change due to the excessive level of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A valid tool in the reduction of such emissions is the imposition of a tax on CO₂ emissions that can act as an economic and financial instrument. Additionally, livestock production based on grazing animals is proposed as a more sustainable model that involves improved environmental practices and provides society with various ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration. The main purpose of this paper is to estimate the maximum price per tonne of CO₂ equivalent (eq) that could be borne by the various models of organic livestock farms in the dehesas and rangelands of southwestern Spain. With this purpose in mind, we have made a scenario-based estimation of the environmental-economic balance in three different scenarios considering farm emissions and CO₂ sequestration levels. The results show that the maximum price that farms can bear is within a range of € 0.20 to € 792/tn of CO₂ eq depending on the scenario analysed and the production model. In the cases in which carbon sequestration balances GHG emissions, the implementation of carbon pricing implies additional economic income for farm accounts.