Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Tier 3 — Observational / field trialPeer-reviewed

The contribution of cattle urine and dung to nitrous oxide emissions: Quantification of country specific emission factors and implications for national inventories

David R. Chadwick, L. M. Cardenas, M.S. Dhanoa, N. Donovan, T. H. Misselbrook, J. R. Williams, R. E. Thorman, Karen McGeough, Catherine J. Watson, M.J. Bell, S.G. Anthony, Robert M. Rees

The Science of The Total Environment · 2018

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Summary

This study presents quantified, country-specific emission factors for nitrous oxide arising from cattle urine and dung in United Kingdom conditions. The research indicates that UK-derived factors differ from IPCC defaults, with direct consequences for the accuracy of national greenhouse gas inventories and the carbon footprint assessments of UK ruminant livestock products.

UK applicability

The findings are directly applicable to UK agricultural policy and national climate reporting, suggesting that current IPCC default emission factors may not accurately represent UK conditions and that inventory methodologies may require revision to better reflect domestic livestock production systems.

Key measures

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) emission factors from cattle urine and dung; comparison with IPCC default emission factors

Outcomes reported

The study quantified country-specific emission factors for nitrous oxide from cattle urine and dung, and compared these against IPCC default values. The findings have implications for revising the UK's national greenhouse gas inventory and for carbon footprinting of ruminant livestock products.

Theme
Climate & resilience
Subject
Climate & greenhouse gas mitigation
Study type
Research
Study design
Field trial
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
Geography
United Kingdom
System type
Pasture-based livestock
DOI
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.152
Catalogue ID
MGmoqkpbp8-2t4vm1

Topic tags

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