Extended Abstract (144K)10.6
Measurement of methane emissions from cattle using chambers and micrometeorological techniques
Sean M. McGinn, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, AB, Canada; and K. A. Beauchemin and T. Coates
Agriculture in Canada contributes 8.3% of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions found within Canada. Methane (CH4) emissions are a major source of these agriculture GHG emissions most of which are a result of enteric fermentation by cattle. Our study looked at three approaches to measuring enteric CH4 emission. The first approach used four large flow-through steady-state chambers where each chamber housed two steers. These chambers proved sensitive enough to identify dietary additives that potentially reduce CH4 emissions. For example, the use of sunflower oil was shown to reduce CH4 emission of cattle on a high forage diet by 22% relative to the control. Overall, CH4 emissions varied from 129 to 181 g steer-1 d-1. The second approach was to measure CH4 emissions from two isolated pens of cattle using open-path lasers along the downwind perimeter and the integrated horizontal flux technique. The final approach was to measure CH4 emissions from whole livestock facilities using a dispersion model technique. In all three studies, animal production data were collected to coincide with CH4 emissions.
Session 10, Trace gases exchange (parallel with session 11)
Thursday, 26 August 2004, 8:30 AM-11:45 AM
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