Using highly nutritious pastures to mitigate enteric methane emissions from cattle grazing systems in South America
Y. Dini A B , J. I. Gere C D , C. Cajarville A and Verónica S. Ciganda E F
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Departamento de Nutrición Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República, Ruta 1 km 42.5, San José, Uruguay.
B Becaria Doctoral ANII.
C UIDI, Facultad Regional Buenos Aires, Universidad Tecnológica Nacional, Medrano 951. Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
D Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Godoy Cruz 2290, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
E Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria, Programa de Producción y Sustentabilidad Ambiental. Ruta 50 km 11, Estación Experimental La Estanzuela, Colonia, Uruguay.
F Corresponding author. Email: vciganda@inia.org.uy
Animal Production Science 58(12) 2329-2334 https://doi.org/10.1071/AN16803
Submitted: 9 December 2016 Accepted: 3 August 2017 Published: 23 November 2017
Abstract
Enteric methane (CH4) emissions are directly related to the quantity and type of feed intake. Existing mitigation strategies, for example, the addition of legumes to grass-based diets and increased use of grains, have been thoroughly researched and applied in different production systems. In this paper, we propose a need to expand the capacity to mitigate enteric CH4 emissions in cattle under grazing conditions. The objective of this paper was to contribute to evaluate a mitigation strategy under grazing conditions of using contrasting levels of pasture quality. The study was performed with 20 heifers twice during the year: winter and spring. Each season, the study employed a crossover design with two treatments and two 5-day measurement periods. The treatments were two pastures with different nutritional values, including a pasture with a low quality (70% of neutral detergent fibre, 1% of ether extract, 8% of non-fibre carbohydrates), 9% of crude protein, 35% of dry matter digestibility and a pasture with a high quality (42% neutral detergent fibre, 1.3% ether extract, 24% non-fibre carbohydrates, 21% crude protein and 63% dry matter digestibility). Enteric CH4 emissions were measured with sulfur hexafluoride tracer technique. The dry matter intake (kg/day) was measured indirectly using titanium dioxide as an external marker. CH4 emissions from animals grazing the high-quality pasture were 14% lower expressed as % of gross energy intake, and 11% lower expressed by unit of dry matter intake (g CH4/kg). These results quantitative showed the alternative to mitigate CH4 emissions from grazing bovines exclusively through the improvement of the forage quality offered.
Additional keywords: grazing conditions, pasture quality, SF6 tracer technique.
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