Page 1 of 8
European Journal of Applied Sciences – Vol. 11, No. 2
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
DOI:10.14738/aivp.112.14295.
Sarubbi, F., Pappalardo, R., Grazioli, G., & Auriemma, G. (2023). Greenhouse Gas Emission in Italian Mediterranean Buffalo
According to Two Different Feed Sources: Preliminary Study. European Journal of Applied Sciences, Vol - 11(2). 347-354.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
Greenhouse Gas Emission in Italian Mediterranean Buffalo
According to Two Different Feed Sources: Preliminary Study
Fiorella Sarubbi
Institute for the Animal Production System Mediterranean Environment,
National Research Council, 80055 Portici, Italy.
Raffaele Pappalardo
Institute for the Animal Production System Mediterranean Environment,
National Research Council, 80055 Portici, Italy.
Giuseppe Grazioli
Institute for the Animal Production System Mediterranean Environment,
National Research Council, 80055 Portici, Italy.
Giuseppe Auriemma
Institute for the Animal Production System Mediterranean Environment,
National Research Council, 80055 Portici, Italy.
ABSTRACT
Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in animal husbandry depend on several factors.
Among the greenhouse gases, the methane (CH4) deriving from enteric
fermentation and ammonia emissions is the ones that encounter the greatest
attention in ruminant breeding. The study was conducted in the two farms located
in southern Italy. To determine the enteric greenhouse gas emissions from buffalo,
information about animal production and farm management was analysed and
using the Global Livestock Environmental Assessment interactive mode (GLEAM-i).
In this experiment, the buffalo were fed with two types of unifeed ad was calculated
CO2, CH4 and N2O emission produced. The resulting values of GHG emission from
each production system were analysed using the t - test procedure using SPSS®
version 26. The dry forage diet system had the highest GHG emission compared to
green forage diet system, indicating the effect of higher inputs in the dry system in
increasing GHG emission. From the results, greener management using feed and
other management inputs would not only improve productivity, but also reduce the
contribution of livestock to global greenhouse gas emissions.
Keywords: greenhouse gas emission, buffalo, feed source, farm management.
INTRODUCTION
Due to an increased concern about climate change, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have
become one of the major issues in all industrial sectors [1]. Agricultural activity accounts for
around 60% and 50% of global anthropogenic emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane
(CH4), respectively, and the livestock sector has been recognized as an important contributor
to the emissions of greenhouse gas [2].
Page 2 of 8
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom 348
European Journal of Applied Sciences (EJAS) Vol. 11, Issue 2, April-2023
More than 70% of CH4 is generated by anthropogenic activities, including animal husbandry
(27%; enteric fermentation in livestock and manure management), paddy rice cultivation
(26%), petroleum sources (26%), waste management (12%) and biomass burning (9%) [3].
It is globally estimated that 7.516 million metric tons per year of CO2 equivalent or 18% of
annual worldwide GHG emissions are attributable to cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, pigs, and
poultry [4]; more exhaustive estimation of food production is responsible for 26% of the total
annuals global GHG emissions [5].
Enteric fermentation by ruminants is the largest source of CH4 emissions in the livestock sector
[4]; it is therefore necessary to precisely valuation the enteric production of methane in these
species to develop a national greenhouse gas inventory and establish mitigation strategies for
greenhouse gas emissions from primary livestock production.
Concerns about global warming have increased the pressure to promote environmentally
sustainable livestock production. Therefore, research focused on the assessment of greenhouse
gas emissions from the livestock sector is essential to develop more sustainable practices.
The different livestock production system contributes to global greenhouse gas emission
differently.
With the increase in demand for food of animal origin and therefore in the consequent increase
in the number of animals [6], with the concentration of intensive farms, the livestock sector, in
terms of contribution to global GHG emissions, plays an increasingly significant role. The
livestock sector plays an important role in influencing climate change, but also that climate
change can negatively affect animals, both directly, because of the increase in temperature,
which affects metabolic activity and the prevalence of new diseases, and indirectly by limiting
the availability of feed and water resources [7].
Methodologies suggested by the IPCC (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
guidelines [8] for the estimation of the enteric methane production of cattle, are Tier 1 (default
values), to Tier 2 (including considerations on diet and energy intake), and Tier 3 (country- specific methodologies and parameter estimates).
[9] studied the effects of methane (CH4) emissions in function of manure management in large
ruminants in China and concluded that the country of breeding strongly influences the results.
Therefore, it is essential to carry out these studies on animals reared in a different country to
provide the latter with all the information necessary to proceed with the appropriate
development of policies and of mitigation strategies to reduce the production of this
greenhouse gas.
It is important to emphasize that wastewater deriving from agro-zootechnical activity, if used
in an irrational way, constitutes a high source of pollution, despite their characteristics making
them suitable for reuse as fertilizers or soil improvers.
Page 3 of 8
349
Sarubbi, F., Pappalardo, R., Grazioli, G., & Auriemma, G. (2023). Greenhouse Gas Emission in Italian Mediterranean Buffalo According to Two
Different Feed Sources: Preliminary Study. European Journal of Applied Sciences, Vol - 11(2). 347-354.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/aivp.112.14295.
The interactions between animal husbandry and the environment vary according to the type of
animals reared (polygastric and monogastric), to breeding techniques and to technologies used
and the farming system (intensive, semi-extensive and extensible).
The 80% of polluting emissions would be related to farms of an extension type where the
feeding of livestock is represented mainly from forage, which determines, at the rumen level,
fermentation of acetic type and therefore a greater production of greenhouse gases.
The breeding of dairy buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) is traditional in the swampy areas of the
central and southern plains of Italy. For zootechnical purposes, the buffalo species is
today considered to have a dual aptitude, although milk production is more important
than meat production; in fact, the buffalo species has produced 123 million tons of milk
and 4.2 million tons of meat worldwide. According to FAO estimates [10], the world livestock
sector is responsible for 14.5% of total anthropogenic emissions. Considering the main
greenhouse gases, at a global level, livestock farms would be responsible for the emission of
about 9% of carbon dioxide, 37% of methane, and 65% of nitrous oxide. In particular, global
anthropogenic emissions amount to about 9 million tons of CO2eq per year.74% of the
world's emissions of livestock origin are caused by cattle. This is mainly due to the abundance
of dairy cattle, but also to a large amount of methane and nitrous oxide emitted by beef cattle
compared to other animals. [11] studied the relationship between the distribution of number
of buffaloes reared in the province of Caserta (Italy) and the expected concentration of nitrates
in the aquifers. Comparison with data recorded in over 100 wells showed that there is no
correlation between the measured pollution and that expected based on the distribution of the
animals reared.
[12] in a study of methane emissions, according to the type of management, they report that
the type of business management in the buffalo species influences the environmental impact as
regards the CH4 emission factor; this result is mainly due to the diet administered to the
animals. They also report that, although the energy requirement for maintenance is the most
important aspect of estimating the CH4 emission factor, this required energy is not influenced
by the production level, while the daily energy requirement increases according to the quantity
of milk produced. This also reduces the fraction of energy required for maintenance.
Consequently, it appears clear that farm management strongly influences the amount of CH4
produced. Correctly balancing the nutrients of the ration, in particular the ratio between
proteins and energy, to maximize the efficiency of use of both fractions at the ruminal level,
appears essential not only to meet the nutritional needs of the animals to which the ration is
intended, but also to try to have a lower impact on the environment.
[13] in a study on nitrogen excretion in lactating buffaloes comparing four different types of
livestock management reported that the organic farm has the least impact in terms of nitrogen
excretion, compared to the other three farms. This answer can also find its justification in the
fact that the ration has a lower protein content.
The Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model interactive (GLEM-i) provides a flexible
tool for undertaking GHG emission among various livestock system ex ante (FAO [14] [15].
Therefore, in this experiment the GHG gas emission in buffalo fed with two types of unifeed was
Page 4 of 8
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom 350
European Journal of Applied Sciences (EJAS) Vol. 11, Issue 2, April-2023
calculated through the quantification of CO2, CH4 and N2O and the emission per kilogram
produced by the two different food systems.
THE EXISTING RANKING METHODS
The study was conducted in the two farms located in southern Italy that were chosen as
representative of the typical buffalo farm in southern Italy.
Were selected 30 lactating buffaloes for farm, homogeneous for distance from calving, calving
order and average milk production recorded in the 30 days prior to the start of the
experimental trial.
Animals had ad libitum access to a total mixed ration (60% maize silage, 17% hay, 24%
concentrate for dry unifeed and 56% alfalfa, 30% maize silage and 14% concentrate for green
unifeed).
The diets were calculated assigning 0.88 MFU/ kg of dry matter, 15% crude protein and 38%
NDF for both farms.
Milk yield was calculated by recording the consecutive milking production on the same day.
There was no difference in milk production between the two groups (11.4 and 11.2 kg per
animal for dry vs green unifeed, respectively).
The qualitative characteristics of the milk recorded in the two groups were also similar (9.5 vs
9.3% of fat and 4.6 vs 4.5% of protein, respectively for the dry unifeed group and the green
unifeed group).
The farm that uses dry unifeed has a total extension of about 260 hectares, while the other
farms extend for about 20 hectares. Both companies provide for the mechanical separation of
the solid and liquid fractions. The separated solid is used as organic fertilizer or soil improver,
and the liquid fraction for fertigation use.
The data utilized of the GLEAM-i tool was inserted in herd module, feed module and manure
module and were collected on the farm. These data were used as inputs for each of the module
to make estimations of GHG emission from the different components or processes of livestock
production system. GLEAM-i is a freely available, web-based Excel program developed by [16]
and [2]. The GLEAM-i quantifies GHG emissions arising from the production of the main
livestock commodities such as meat and milk from cattle, sheep, goats, and buffalo.
In this study, the authors considered two unifeed types in buffalo breeding for estimate CO2,
CH4 and N2O emissions from each type of unifeed and the emission per kilogram produced by
the two different food systems.
Feed intake and manure production were converted into feed intake and manure management
type percentage. The resulting values of GHG emission from each production system were
analyzed using the t - test procedure using [17].