Evaluating nutritional quality and methane production from fermentation of pasture forages grown under current and future climate conditions using near-infrared spectroscopy

Summary

This study investigates how projected climate change conditions — likely elevated CO₂ and temperature — may alter the nutritional composition of pasture forages and their associated enteric methane production potential. Near-infrared spectroscopy was employed as a rapid, non-destructive method to characterise forage quality across climate treatments. The findings are likely to contribute to understanding trade-offs between livestock feed value and greenhouse gas emissions under future climate scenarios, with relevance to pasture management and livestock production efficiency.

UK applicability

Although the study appears to have been conducted in Australia (inferred from the journal, authoring institutions, and forage species likely examined), the methodological use of NIRS for forage quality assessment and the broader findings on climate-driven changes to forage nutritional value and methane yield are broadly applicable to UK pasture-based systems, particularly given UK targets to reduce agricultural methane emissions and adapt grassland management to climate change.

Key measures

Crude protein; neutral detergent fibre (NDF); acid detergent fibre (ADF); digestibility; in vitro methane production (mL/g DM); near-infrared spectroscopy calibration statistics

Outcomes reported

The study assessed nutritional quality parameters and in vitro methane production from pasture forages grown under ambient and elevated temperature or CO₂ conditions representative of future climate scenarios. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was used as the primary analytical tool to evaluate forage quality metrics.

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