Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6337151 | Atmospheric Environment | 2016 | 14 Pages |
Abstract
The Canadian ammonia (NH3) emissions model and a survey of dairy farm practices were used to quantify effects of management on emissions from dairy farms in Ontario Canada. Total NH3 emissions from dairy farming were 21Â Gg NH3-NÂ yrâ1 for the four ecoregions of the province. Annual emission rates ranged from 12.8 (for calves in ecoregions of Manitoulin-Lake Simcoe-Frontenac) to 50Â kg NH3-NÂ animalâ1Â yrâ1 (for lactating cows in ecoregions of St. Lawrence Lowlands) (mean of 27Â kg NH3-NÂ animalâ1Â yrâ1). The St. Lawrence Lowlands ecoregion had the highest emission rate because more dairy manure was managed as solid manure in that ecoregion. Total dairy cattle N intake (diet-N) was 81Â Gg NÂ yrâ1, 23% of which was retained in animal products (e.g., milk, meat, and fetus), 47% was returned to the land, and 30% was emitted as gas (i.e., NH3-N, N2O-N, NO-N, and N2-N) and nitrate-N leaching/runoff. Ammonia volatilization constituted the largest loss of diet-N (26%), as well as manure-N (34%). Reducing the fraction of solid manure by 50% has the potential to mitigate NH3 emissions by 18% in Ontario ecoregions.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Atmospheric Science
Authors
Lilong Chai, Roland Kröbel, Douglas MacDonald, Shabtai Bittman, Karen A. Beauchemin, H. Henry Janzen, Sean M. McGinn, Andrew Vanderzaag,