Journal
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
Volume 136, Issue 3-4, Pages 282-291Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2009.12.003
Keywords
Nitrous oxide; Grazed pasture; Greenhouse gas; Mitigation; LCA
Funding
- New Zealand Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium (PGGRC)
- New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF)
- New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (FRST)
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Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from grazed pastures represent a significant source of atmospheric N2O. With an improved understanding and quantification of N sources, transformation processes, and soil and climatic conditions controlling N2O emissions, a number of management options can be identified to reduce N2O emissions from grazed pasture systems. The mitigation options discussed in this paper are: optimum soil management, limiting the amount of N fertiliser or effluent applied when soil is wet; lowering the amount of N excreted in animal urine by using low-N feed supplements as an alternative to fertiliser N-boosted grass; plant and animal selection for increased N use efficiency, using N process inhibitors that inhibit the conversion of urea to ammonium and ammonium to nitrate in soil; use of stand-off/feed pads or housing systems during high risk periods of N loss. The use of single or multiple mitigation options always needs to be evaluated in a whole farm system context and account for total greenhouse gas emissions including methane and carbon dioxide. They should focus on ensuring overall efficiency gains through decreasing N losses per unit of animal production and achieving a tighter N cycle. Whole-system life-cycle-based environmental analysis should also be conducted to assess overall environmental emissions associated the N2O mitigation options. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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