DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Revised methane emissions factors and spatially distributed annual carbon fluxes for global livestock

Abstract

Background: Livestock play an important role in carbon cycling through consumption of biomass and emissions of methane. Recent research suggests that existing bottom-up inventories of livestock methane emissions in the US, such as those made using 2006 IPCC Tier 1 livestock emissions factors, are too low. This may be due to outdated information used to develop these emissions factors. In this study, we update information for cattle and swine by region, based on reported recent changes in animal body mass, feed quality and quantity, milk productivity, and management of animals and manure. We then use this updated information to calculate new livestock methane emissions factors for enteric fermentation in cattle, and for manure management in cattle and swine.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [2]
  1. US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), Beltsville, MD (United States). Adaptive Cropping Systems Lab.
  2. Joint Global Change Research Inst., College Park, MD (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1406780
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-126549
Journal ID: ISSN 1750-0680; 400409900
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC05-76RL01830
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Carbon Balance and Management
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 12; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 1750-0680
Publisher:
BioMed Central, Ltd. (BMC)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Citation Formats

Wolf, Julie, Asrar, Ghassem R., and West, Tristram O. Revised methane emissions factors and spatially distributed annual carbon fluxes for global livestock. United States: N. p., 2017. Web. doi:10.1186/s13021-017-0084-y.
Wolf, Julie, Asrar, Ghassem R., & West, Tristram O. Revised methane emissions factors and spatially distributed annual carbon fluxes for global livestock. United States. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13021-017-0084-y
Wolf, Julie, Asrar, Ghassem R., and West, Tristram O. Fri . "Revised methane emissions factors and spatially distributed annual carbon fluxes for global livestock". United States. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13021-017-0084-y. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1406780.
@article{osti_1406780,
title = {Revised methane emissions factors and spatially distributed annual carbon fluxes for global livestock},
author = {Wolf, Julie and Asrar, Ghassem R. and West, Tristram O.},
abstractNote = {Background: Livestock play an important role in carbon cycling through consumption of biomass and emissions of methane. Recent research suggests that existing bottom-up inventories of livestock methane emissions in the US, such as those made using 2006 IPCC Tier 1 livestock emissions factors, are too low. This may be due to outdated information used to develop these emissions factors. In this study, we update information for cattle and swine by region, based on reported recent changes in animal body mass, feed quality and quantity, milk productivity, and management of animals and manure. We then use this updated information to calculate new livestock methane emissions factors for enteric fermentation in cattle, and for manure management in cattle and swine.},
doi = {10.1186/s13021-017-0084-y},
journal = {Carbon Balance and Management},
number = 1,
volume = 12,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Sep 29 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Fri Sep 29 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 82 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

Anthropogenic emissions of methane in the United States
journal, November 2013

  • Miller, S. M.; Wofsy, S. C.; Michalak, A. M.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 110, Issue 50
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1314392110

Greenhouse gas emissions from dairy manure management: a review of field-based studies
journal, August 2014

  • Owen, Justine J.; Silver, Whendee L.
  • Global Change Biology, Vol. 21, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12687

Exploring changes in world ruminant production systems
journal, May 2005


Estimating methane emissions in California's urban and rural regions using multitower observations
journal, November 2016

  • Jeong, Seongeun; Newman, Sally; Zhang, Jingsong
  • Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 121, Issue 21
  • DOI: 10.1002/2016JD025404

Nitrogen Mass Flow in China's Animal Production System and Environmental Implications
journal, September 2010

  • Wang, Fanghao; Dou, Zhengxia; Ma, Lin
  • Journal of Environmental Quality, Vol. 39, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.2134/jeq2010.0090

Carbon footprint of milk production in Brazil: a comparative case study
journal, October 2014

  • de Léis, Cristiane Maria; Cherubini, Edivan; Ruviaro, Clandio Favarini
  • The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, Vol. 20, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1007/s11367-014-0813-3

Reduced methane growth rate explained by decreased Northern Hemisphere microbial sources
journal, August 2011

  • Kai, Fuu Ming; Tyler, Stanley C.; Randerson, James T.
  • Nature, Vol. 476, Issue 7359
  • DOI: 10.1038/nature10259

Global patterns of socioeconomic biomass flows in the year 2000: A comprehensive assessment of supply, consumption and constraints
journal, April 2008


Feed–milk–manure nitrogen relationships in global dairy production systems
journal, April 2013


Biomass use, production, feed efficiencies, and greenhouse gas emissions from global livestock systems
journal, December 2013

  • Herrero, M.; Havlik, P.; Valin, H.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 110, Issue 52
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1308149110

Biogenic carbon fluxes from global agricultural production and consumption: GLOBAL AGRICULTURAL CARBON FLUXES
journal, October 2015

  • Wolf, Julie; West, Tristram O.; Le Page, Yannick
  • Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Vol. 29, Issue 10
  • DOI: 10.1002/2015GB005119

Three decades of global methane sources and sinks
journal, September 2013

  • Kirschke, Stefanie; Bousquet, Philippe; Ciais, Philippe
  • Nature Geoscience, Vol. 6, Issue 10
  • DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1955

The global methane budget 2000–2012
journal, January 2016

  • Saunois, Marielle; Bousquet, Philippe; Poulter, Ben
  • Earth System Science Data, Vol. 8, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.5194/essd-8-697-2016

The growing role of methane in anthropogenic climate change
journal, December 2016


Atmospheric methane levels off: Temporary pause or a new steady-state?
journal, January 2003


China's lakes of pig manure spawn antibiotic resistance
journal, February 2015


A 21st-century shift from fossil-fuel to biogenic methane emissions indicated by 13CH4
journal, March 2016


Estimating global and North American methane emissions with high spatial resolution using GOSAT satellite data
journal, January 2015

  • Turner, A. J.; Jacob, D. J.; Wecht, K. J.
  • Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 15, Issue 12
  • DOI: 10.5194/acp-15-7049-2015

Rapid assessment of feed and manure nutrient management on confinement dairy farms
journal, March 2008

  • Powell, J. Mark; Li, Yanxia; Wu, Zhonghong
  • Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, Vol. 82, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1007/s10705-008-9173-3

Mapping of North American methane emissions with high spatial resolution by inversion of SCIAMACHY satellite data: NORTH AMERICA METHANE EMISSION INVERSION
journal, June 2014

  • Wecht, Kevin J.; Jacob, Daniel J.; Frankenberg, Christian
  • Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 119, Issue 12
  • DOI: 10.1002/2014JD021551

Methane on the Rise--Again
journal, January 2014


Global anthropogenic methane emissions 2005–2030: technical mitigation potentials and costs
journal, January 2012


Downscaling global land cover projections from an integrated assessment model for use in regional analyses: results and evaluation for the US from 2005 to 2095
journal, May 2014


Greenhouse gas emissions from dairy manure management in a Mediterranean environment
journal, February 2017

  • Owen, Justine J.; Silver, Whendee L.
  • Ecological Applications, Vol. 27, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1002/eap.1465

Spatiotemporal patterns of livestock manure nutrient production in the conterminous United States from 1930 to 2012
journal, January 2016


Estimation of methane and nitrous oxide emissions from Indian livestock
journal, January 2012

  • Patra, Amlan K.
  • Journal of Environmental Monitoring, Vol. 14, Issue 10
  • DOI: 10.1039/c2em30396e

Atmospheric CH 4 in the first decade of the 21st century: Inverse modeling analysis using SCIAMACHY satellite retrievals and NOAA surface measurements : CH
journal, July 2013

  • Bergamaschi, P.; Houweling, S.; Segers, A.
  • Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 118, Issue 13
  • DOI: 10.1002/jgrd.50480

Rising atmospheric methane: 2007-2014 growth and isotopic shift: RISING METHANE 2007-2014
journal, September 2016

  • Nisbet, E. G.; Dlugokencky, E. J.; Manning, M. R.
  • Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Vol. 30, Issue 9
  • DOI: 10.1002/2016GB005406

The impact of air pollutant and methane emission controls on tropospheric ozone and radiative forcing: CTM calculations for the period 1990-2030
journal, January 2005

  • Dentener, F.; Stevenson, D.; Cofala, J.
  • Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 5, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.5194/acp-5-1731-2005

Assessing the Jarman–Bell Principle: Scaling of intake, digestibility, retention time and gut fill with body mass in mammalian herbivores
journal, January 2013

  • Müller, Dennis W. H.; Codron, Daryl; Meloro, Carlo
  • Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology, Vol. 164, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2012.09.018

A century of poultry genetics
journal, June 2012

  • Tixier-Boichard, M.; Leenstra, F.; Flock, D. K.
  • World's Poultry Science Journal, Vol. 68, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1017/S0043933912000360

The terrestrial biosphere as a net source of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere
journal, March 2016

  • Tian, Hanqin; Lu, Chaoqun; Ciais, Philippe
  • Nature, Vol. 531, Issue 7593
  • DOI: 10.1038/nature16946

Changes in Pig Production in China and Their Effects on Nitrogen and Phosphorus Use and Losses
journal, October 2014

  • Bai, Z. H.; Ma, L.; Qin, W.
  • Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 48, Issue 21
  • DOI: 10.1021/es502160v

4. Developments in dairying worldwide, from a dairy farmer’s perspective
book, January 2014


The FAOSTAT database of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture
journal, February 2013

  • Tubiello, Francesco N.; Salvatore, Mirella; Rossi, Simone
  • Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 8, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/015009

Greenhouse gas emissions from the enteric fermentation and manure storage of dairy and beef cattle in China during 1961–2010
journal, November 2014


Manure management for greenhouse gas mitigation
journal, June 2013


Methane production of growing and finishing pigs in southern China
journal, June 2011


Rising atmospheric methane: 2007-2014 growth and isotopic shift
text, January 2016

  • Nisbet, Eg; Dlugokencky, Ej; Manning, Mr
  • Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository
  • DOI: 10.17863/cam.6326

Three decades of global methane sources and sinks
text, January 2013

  • Ciais, Philippe; Kummel, Paul B.; Zeng, Guang
  • Nature Publishing Group
  • DOI: 10.7892/boris.47715

The FAOSTAT database of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture
audiovisual, January 2013

  • Tubiello, Francesco N.; Salvatore, Mirella; Rossi, Simone
  • Institute of Physics (IOP)
  • DOI: 10.5446/39467

The global methane budget 2000--2012
text, January 2016

  • Saunois, Marielle; Bousquet, Philippe; Poulter, Ben
  • Copernicus Publications
  • DOI: 10.7892/boris.91436

A large increase in U.S. methane emissions over the past decade inferred from satellite data and surface observations
journal, March 2016

  • Turner, A. J.; Jacob, D. J.; Benmergui, J.
  • Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 43, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1002/2016gl067987

Greenhouse gas emissions from dairy manure management in a Mediterranean environment
journal, February 2017

  • Owen, Justine J.; Silver, Whendee L.
  • Ecological Applications, Vol. 27, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1002/eap.1465

Rapid assessment of feed and manure nutrient management on confinement dairy farms
journal, March 2008

  • Powell, J. Mark; Li, Yanxia; Wu, Zhonghong
  • Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, Vol. 82, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1007/s10705-008-9173-3

Carbon footprint of milk production in Brazil: a comparative case study
journal, October 2014

  • de Léis, Cristiane Maria; Cherubini, Edivan; Ruviaro, Clandio Favarini
  • The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, Vol. 20, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1007/s11367-014-0813-3

Exploring changes in world ruminant production systems
journal, May 2005


Methane production of growing and finishing pigs in southern China
journal, June 2011


Assessing the Jarman–Bell Principle: Scaling of intake, digestibility, retention time and gut fill with body mass in mammalian herbivores
journal, January 2013

  • Müller, Dennis W. H.; Codron, Daryl; Meloro, Carlo
  • Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology, Vol. 164, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2012.09.018

Global patterns of socioeconomic biomass flows in the year 2000: A comprehensive assessment of supply, consumption and constraints
journal, April 2008


Greenhouse gas emissions from the enteric fermentation and manure storage of dairy and beef cattle in China during 1961–2010
journal, November 2014


Feed–milk–manure nitrogen relationships in global dairy production systems
journal, April 2013


Spatiotemporal patterns of livestock manure nutrient production in the conterminous United States from 1930 to 2012
journal, January 2016


Dairy intensification in developing countries: effects of market quality on farm-level feeding and breeding practices
journal, October 2013


Reduced methane growth rate explained by decreased Northern Hemisphere microbial sources
journal, August 2011

  • Kai, Fuu Ming; Tyler, Stanley C.; Randerson, James T.
  • Nature, Vol. 476, Issue 7359
  • DOI: 10.1038/nature10259

The terrestrial biosphere as a net source of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere
journal, March 2016

  • Tian, Hanqin; Lu, Chaoqun; Ciais, Philippe
  • Nature, Vol. 531, Issue 7593
  • DOI: 10.1038/nature16946

Three decades of global methane sources and sinks
journal, September 2013

  • Kirschke, Stefanie; Bousquet, Philippe; Ciais, Philippe
  • Nature Geoscience, Vol. 6, Issue 10
  • DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1955

Estimation of methane and nitrous oxide emissions from Indian livestock
journal, January 2012

  • Patra, Amlan K.
  • Journal of Environmental Monitoring, Vol. 14, Issue 10
  • DOI: 10.1039/c2em30396e

Biomass use, production, feed efficiencies, and greenhouse gas emissions from global livestock systems
journal, December 2013

  • Herrero, M.; Havlik, P.; Valin, H.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 110, Issue 52
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1308149110

Anthropogenic emissions of methane in the United States
journal, November 2013

  • Miller, S. M.; Wofsy, S. C.; Michalak, A. M.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 110, Issue 50
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1314392110

The growing role of methane in anthropogenic climate change
journal, December 2016


The FAOSTAT database of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture
journal, February 2013

  • Tubiello, Francesco N.; Salvatore, Mirella; Rossi, Simone
  • Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 8, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/015009

Downscaling global land cover projections from an integrated assessment model for use in regional analyses: results and evaluation for the US from 2005 to 2095
journal, May 2014


Greenhouse gas emissions from dairy manure management: a review of field-based studies
journal, August 2014

  • Owen, Justine J.; Silver, Whendee L.
  • Global Change Biology, Vol. 21, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12687

A 21st-century shift from fossil-fuel to biogenic methane emissions indicated by 13CH4
journal, March 2016


Nitrogen Mass Flow in China's Animal Production System and Environmental Implications
journal, September 2010

  • Wang, Fanghao; Dou, Zhengxia; Ma, Lin
  • Journal of Environmental Quality, Vol. 39, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.2134/jeq2010.0090

The impact of air pollutant and methane emission controls on tropospheric ozone and radiative forcing: CTM calculations for the period 1990-2030
journal, January 2005

  • Dentener, F.; Stevenson, D.; Cofala, J.
  • Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 5, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.5194/acp-5-1731-2005

Works referencing / citing this record:

On the Causes and Consequences of Recent Trends in Atmospheric Methane
journal, August 2019


Assessment and Mitigation of Methane Emissions from Livestock Sector in Pakistan
journal, October 2018


Changes in Global Tropospheric OH Expected as a Result of Climate Change Over the Last Several Decades
journal, September 2018

  • Nicely, Julie M.; Canty, Timothy P.; Manyin, Michael
  • Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 123, Issue 18
  • DOI: 10.1029/2018jd028388

Revisiting enteric methane emissions from domestic ruminants and their δ13CCH4 source signature
journal, July 2019


The consequences of replacing wildlife with livestock in Africa
journal, December 2017


Biogeochemical potential of biomass pyrolysis systems for limiting global warming to 1.5 °C
journal, April 2018


Enhanced response of global wetland methane emissions to the 2015–2016 El Niño-Southern Oscillation event
journal, June 2018

  • Zhang, Zhen; Zimmermann, Niklaus E.; Calle, Leonardo
  • Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 13, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/aac939

Rising methane: A new climate challenge
journal, June 2019


Eating with our eyes (closed): Effects of visually associating animals with meat on antivegan/vegetarian attitudes and meat consumption willingness
journal, June 2019

  • Earle, Megan; Hodson, Gordon; Dhont, Kristof
  • Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, Vol. 22, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1177/1368430219861848

Emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) from soil surfaces and their historical changes in East Asia: a model-based assessment
journal, September 2018

  • Ito, Akihiko; Nishina, Kazuya; Ishijima, Kentaro
  • Progress in Earth and Planetary Science, Vol. 5, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1186/s40645-018-0215-4

Inventory of Spatio-Temporal Methane Emissions from Livestock and Poultry Farming in Beijing
journal, July 2019

  • Guo, Yixuan; Wang, Yidong; Chen, Shufeng
  • Sustainability, Vol. 11, Issue 14
  • DOI: 10.3390/su11143858

2010–2016 methane trends over Canada, the United States, and Mexico observed by the GOSAT satellite: contributions from different source sectors
journal, January 2018

  • Sheng, Jian-Xiong; Jacob, Daniel J.; Turner, Alexander J.
  • Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 18, Issue 16
  • DOI: 10.5194/acp-18-12257-2018

High-resolution inversion of methane emissions in the Southeast US using SEAC 4 RS aircraft observations of atmospheric methane: anthropogenic and wetland sources
journal, January 2018

  • Sheng, Jian-Xiong; Jacob, Daniel J.; Turner, Alexander J.
  • Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 18, Issue 9
  • DOI: 10.5194/acp-18-6483-2018

An increase in methane emissions from tropical Africa between 2010 and 2016 inferred from satellite data
journal, January 2019

  • Lunt, Mark F.; Palmer, Paul I.; Feng, Liang
  • Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 19, Issue 23
  • DOI: 10.5194/acp-19-14721-2019

Potential improvements in global carbon flux estimates from a network of laser heterodyne radiometer measurements of column carbon dioxide
journal, January 2019

  • Palmer, Paul I.; Wilson, Emily L.; L. Villanueva, Geronimo
  • Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, Vol. 12, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.5194/amt-12-2579-2019

Enhanced response of global wetland methane emissions to the 2015-2016 El Nino-Southern Oscillation event
text, January 2018


Transcriptome analysis of life stages of the house cricket, Acheta domesticus, to improve insect crop production
journal, February 2020


Humic Substances Alter Ammonia Production and the Microbial Populations Within a RUSITEC Fed a Mixed Hay – Concentrate Diet
journal, July 2018

  • Terry, Stephanie A.; Ramos, Aline F. O.; Holman, Devin B.
  • Frontiers in Microbiology, Vol. 9
  • DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.01410

Reduction in Methane Emissions From Acidified Dairy Slurry Is Related to Inhibition of Methanosarcina Species
journal, November 2018