Determining the potential of a LoRa technology approach to measure methane emission in sheep

Thesis (MScAgric)--Stellenbosch University, 2022.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: As a result of their contribution to global methane (CH4) emissions, ruminants are under scrutiny, with research focusing on quantifying CH4 production to contribute to the development of CH4 mitigation strategies. Previous studies have quantified CH4 emissions from ruminants; however, these studies were carried out under controlled conditions, and therefore the results cannot be extrapolated to animals under extensive (free range) production conditions. Despite the various studies on CH4 emissions in ruminants, there is a lack of data regarding CH4 emissions in sheep under extensive production conditions. Agriculture as an industry is in a unique state of transformation, as new technologies provide the opportunity to create automated and data-driven agricultural practices. A prominent technology available to the industry is LoRa (Long Range), a sub-technology of the ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT). LoRa technology presents an opportunity for the development of a low-power, affordable, and simple CH4 measurement technique, which can measure CH4 emissions with little to no human input. This study aimed to determine the potential of a novel LoRa CH4 detection unit to measure CH4 emissions in sheep under South African grazing conditions. The CH4 emissions of ten intact Dohne Merino rams grazing kikuyu pasture were determined using the LoRa CH4 detection units, a hand-held Laser methane detector, and an Australian-adapted Tier 2 approach. Three LoRa CH4 detection units were installed in a 0.07 ha camp, and set to take CH4 measurements for ten days, i.e. two days where background CH4 concentrations were measured, and eight days where sheep CH4 emissions were recorded. The LMD was used to take daily enteric CH4 emission measurements from each ram for ten days. The objectives of this study included determining the potential of the LoRa CH4 detection units to measure sheep CH4 emissions under grazing conditions, and to compare emissions measured by the LoRa devices with that recorded by a laser methane detector (LMD). Both devices were used to establish diurnal CH4 emissions in sheep, and to compare the recorded levels with the calculated IPCC Tier 2 levels for sheep under grazing conditions. The effect of ambient conditions on the CH4 concentrations measured by the LoRa detection units was investigated. Relative humidity had a significant positive correlation with the CH4 concentrations measured by the LoRa detection units, while air temperature, wind speed and solar radiation had a negative correlation with the CH4 concentrations measured by the LoRa detection units. Significant correlations were reported for Device 3 only. The LoRa detection units and LMD compared favourably in terms of the characterization of the diurnal fluctuation in CH4 concentration. The CH4 levels measured per ram by LoRa Devices 1 (24.0 ppm) and Device 2 (52.9 ppm) were significantly higher than the levels detected by the LMD (13.9 ppm), while the CH4 levels measured per ram by LoRa Device 3 (11.9 ppm) were similar to the LMD detected levels. The IPCC Tier 2 approach (10.3 g/day) underestimated the CH4 emissions per ram compared to the LMD (27.6 g/day). It was not possible to compare the CH4 emissions data obtained using the LoRa technology and Tier 2 approach in this study as their emission estimates had different units (ppm versus g/day, respectively). The LoRa CH4 detection device developed for this study, has the potential to be a low-cost and practical measurement technique to quantify CH4 emissions from sheep under grazing conditions, limited to use in small, controlled camps. Once the device design is refined to overcome the few limitations identified in this study, the LoRa technology can assist with the generation of sheep CH4 emission data under various production conditions to improve emission inventories and verify mitigation strategies, on a national and international scale.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: As gevolg van hul bydrae tot globale metaanvrystellings (CH4) word herkouers onder die loep geneem, met navorsing wat fokus op die kwantifisering van CH4-produksie om by te dra tot die ontwikkeling van strategieë wat sal bydra tot verlaging van CH4 geproduseer deur herkouers. Vorige studies het CH4-emissies van herkouers gekwantifiseer; hierdie studies is egter onder beheerde toestande uitgevoer en daarom kan die resultate nie geëkstrapoleer word na diere onder ekstensiewe (vrylopende) produksietoestande nie. Ten spyte van die verskeie studies oor CH4 vrystellings by herkouers, is daar 'n gebrek aan data rakende CH4 emissies by skape onder ekstensiewe produksietoestande. Landbou as 'n bedryf is in 'n unieke toestand van transformasie, aangesien nuwe tegnologie die geleentheid bied om geoutomatiseerde en data-gedrewe landboupraktyke te skep. 'n Prominente tegnologie wat vir die bedryf beskikbaar is, is LoRa (Long Range), 'n sub-tegnologie van die 'Internet of Things' (IoT). LoRa tegnologie bied 'n geleentheid vir die ontwikkeling van 'n lae-krag, bekostigbare en eenvoudige CH4 metingstegniek, wat CH4 emissies kan meet met minimale menslike insette. Hierdie studie het ten doel gehad om die potensiaal van 'n nuwe LoRa CH4 metingseenheid te bepaal om CH4 emissies in skape onder Suid-Afrikaanse weidingstoestande te meet. Die CH4 vrystellings van tien intakte Dohne Merino ramme wat kikoejoe weiding bewei het, is bepaal deur gebruik te maak van die LoRa CH4 metingseenhede, 'n laser-metaan metingtoestel (LMD) en 'n Australies- aangepaste Vlak 2-benadering. Drie LoRa CH4 metingseenhede is in 'n kamp van 0,07 ha geïnstalleer en gestel om CH4 metings vir tien dae te neem, dit wil sê twee dae waar agtergrond CH4 konsentrasies gemeet is, en agt dae waar skaap CH4 vrystellings aangeteken is. Die LMD is gebruik om daaglikse enteriese CH4 emissiemetings van elke ram vir tien dae te neem. Die doelwitte van hierdie studie het ingesluit die bepaling van die potensiaal van die LoRa CH4 metingseenhede om skaap CH4 vrystellings onder weidingstoestande te meet, en om emissies gemeet deur die LoRa eenhede te vergelyk met dié wat deur 'n LMD aangeteken is. Beide toestelle is gebruik om daaglikse CH4 emissies by skape vas te stel, en om die aangetekende vlakke te vergelyk met die berekende IPCC Vlak 2-vlakke vir skape onder weidingstoestande. Die effek van omgewingstoestande op die CH4 konsentrasies gemeet deur die LoRa metingseenhede is ondersoek. Relatiewe humiditeit het 'n beduidende positiewe korrelasie gehad met die CH4 konsentrasies gemeet deur die LoRa metingseenhede, terwyl lugtemperatuur, windspoed en sonstraling 'n negatiewe korrelasie gehad het met die CH4 konsentrasies gemeet deur die LoRa metingseenhede. Beduidende korrelasies is slegs vir Toestel 3 aangemeld. Die LoRa metingseenhede en LMD het gunstig vergelyk in terme van die karakterisering van die daaglikse fluktuasie in CH4 konsentrasie. Die CH4 vlakke gemeet per ram deur LoRa metingseenheid 1 (24.0 dpm) en metingseenheid 2 (52.9 dpm) was aansienlik hoër as die vlakke wat deur die LMD opgespoor is (13.9 dpm), terwyl die CH4 vlakke gemeet per ram deur LoRa metingseenheid 3 (11.9 dpm) ) soortgelyk was aan die LMD-bespeurde vlakke. Die IPCC Vlak 2-benadering (10,3 g/dag) het die CH4 emissies per ram onderskat in vergelyking met die LMD (27,6 g/dag). Dit was nie moontlik om die CH4 emissiedata wat verkry is met behulp van die LoRa tegnologie en Vlak 2-benadering in hierdie studie te vergelyk nie, aangesien hul emissieskattings verskillende eenhede gehad het (onderskeidelik dpm versus g/dag). Die LoRa CH4 metingstoestel wat vir hierdie studie ontwikkel is, het die potensiaal om 'n lae-koste en praktiese metingstegniek te wees om CH4 emissies van skape onder weidingstoestande te kwantifiseer, beperk tot gebruik in klein, beheerde kampe. Sodra die toestel-ontwerp verfyn is om die paar beperkings wat in hierdie studie geïdentifiseer is, te oorkom, kan die LoRa tegnologie help met die generering van skape CH4 emissiedata onder verskeie produksietoestande om emissie-databasisse te verbeter en strategieë om metaanproduksie te verlaag te verifieer, op nasionale en internasionale skaal.Master

Quantifying daily methane production of beef cattle from multiple short-term measures using the GreenFeed system

On-farm CH₄ emissions have been identified as the largest contributors to the carbon footprint of livestock production systems. A requirement to quantify on-farm mitigation under commercial production conditions and a desire to establish the phenotype of thousands of ruminants for breeding programs, has fueled the development of techniques to estimate daily methane production (DMP) from short-term measures of methane concentration or methane flux.The accuracy, precision and applicability of these methods has been largely untested and forms the susbtance of this thesis. In assessing the accuracy of short-term emissions measures to estimate DMP, a high level of concordance was observed between DMP measured over 24h in a respiration chamber (RC) and estimated from multiple short-term measurement estimates using the GreenFeed Emission Monitoring system (GEM). Three independent experiments comparing DMP confirmed that estimates between methods differ by 5% to 8% (P>0.05). This implies that multiple short-term measures of emission rates are complementary to and consistent with respiration chamber-derived measures, providing capability to measure a greater number of animals, potentially in their production environment over extended periods of time. Methane yields (MY; g CH₄/kg DMI) were also derived based on multiple short-term emission measures, with results consistently within 10% of those calculated based on 24h RC data. The overall MY of animals consuming roughages was 21.8g CH₄/kg DMI using GEM data, in keeping with the 22.3g CH₄/kg DMI average in the literature. That implies that GEM units can not only accurately estimate DMP of cattle but also support accurate MY estimates that can be used in quantifying livestock emissions for national greenhouse inventory calculations

Effect of increasing fossil shell flour levels on digestive and metabolic utilization, health, body weight change and wool production, and quality in Dohne-Merino wethers

The study's broad objective was to assess growth performance, blood and parasitic profiles, wool parameters, methane emission, and nutritional status of Dohne-Merino wethers fed diets supplemented with varying levels of fossil shell flour. Twenty-four Dohne-Merino wethers, averagely weighing 20.0±1.50 kg, were divided into four groups and used in this study. The effects of varying inclusion levels of fossil shell flour (FSF) (0, 2, 4, and 6 %) on feed intake, water intake, nutrient digestibility, N-retention, hematobiochemical and parasitic profiles, body condition scores, feed preference, wool parameters and methane output were determined. The influence of FSF's varying inclusion levels on fermentation parameters, in vitro true digestibility, and relative feed values were also determined. Wethers fed with 4% FSF inclusion level diet showed the highest (P 0.05) from wethers on 4% FSF as well. The total protein concentration, albumin, total bilirubin, Na, K, glucose, cholesterol, and liver enzymes were normal for wethers. However, serum creatinine level was lower in wethers fed on 4% FSF than those on 0% FSF (P 0.05). The wethers spent more time on FSF supplemented diets and consumed more feed compared to that without FSF supplemented (P 0.05). The acetic propionic ratio of the wethers also decreased except at a 4% inclusion level. The in vitro true digestibility dry matter (IVTDDM), in vitro true digestibility neutral detergent fibre (IVTDNDF), and in vitro true digestibility acid detergent fibre (IVTDADF) of the wethers decreased up to 4% FSF inclusion but tended to increase at 6% inclusion. This study's result as one of the pioneer studies in Dohne-Marino wethers showed that FSF treatment has the potential to improve the nutritional status of the animal and the animal performance and wool quality. Health-wise, FSF decrease nematode population and boost animal immunity as seen in RBC and WBC counts. It also can play a major role in protecting the environment, as seen in its reduction in feacal and urinary nitrogen, which is heavily involved in environmental pollution. Result also confirmed that the best period to target for methane mitigation in ruminants is the resting period. In conclusion, the inclusion of FSF in the diet of Dohne-Merino wethers has the potential to improve the overall performance, with a 4% FSF inclusion level having optimal productivity. However, future research is required to investigate FSF's effect on meat quality, rumen microbial community, in-vivo digestibility, and milk production

Effect of increasing fossil shell flour levels on digestive and metabolic utilization, health, body weight change and wool production, and quality in Dohne-Merino wethers

The study's broad objective was to assess growth performance, blood and parasitic profiles, wool parameters, methane emission, and nutritional status of Dohne-Merino wethers fed diets supplemented with varying levels of fossil shell flour. Twenty-four Dohne-Merino wethers, averagely weighing 20.0±1.50 kg, were divided into four groups and used in this study. The effects of varying inclusion levels of fossil shell flour (FSF) (0, 2, 4, and 6 %) on feed intake, water intake, nutrient digestibility, N-retention, hematobiochemical and parasitic profiles, body condition scores, feed preference, wool parameters and methane output were determined. The influence of FSF's varying inclusion levels on fermentation parameters, in vitro true digestibility, and relative feed values were also determined. Wethers fed with 4% FSF inclusion level diet showed the highest (P 0.05) from wethers on 4% FSF as well. The total protein concentration, albumin, total bilirubin, Na, K, glucose, cholesterol, and liver enzymes were normal for wethers. However, serum creatinine level was lower in wethers fed on 4% FSF than those on 0% FSF (P 0.05). The wethers spent more time on FSF supplemented diets and consumed more feed compared to that without FSF supplemented (P 0.05). The acetic propionic ratio of the wethers also decreased except at a 4% inclusion level. The in vitro true digestibility dry matter (IVTDDM), in vitro true digestibility neutral detergent fibre (IVTDNDF), and in vitro true digestibility acid detergent fibre (IVTDADF) of the wethers decreased up to 4% FSF inclusion but tended to increase at 6% inclusion. This study's result as one of the pioneer studies in Dohne-Marino wethers showed that FSF treatment has the potential to improve the nutritional status of the animal and the animal performance and wool quality. Health-wise, FSF decrease nematode population and boost animal immunity as seen in RBC and WBC counts. It also can play a major role in protecting the environment, as seen in its reduction in feacal and urinary nitrogen, which is heavily involved in environmental pollution. Result also confirmed that the best period to target for methane mitigation in ruminants is the resting period. In conclusion, the inclusion of FSF in the diet of Dohne-Merino wethers has the potential to improve the overall performance, with a 4% FSF inclusion level having optimal productivity. However, future research is required to investigate FSF's effect on meat quality, rumen microbial community, in-vivo digestibility, and milk production

Measuring Emission of Agricultural Greenhouse Gases and Developing Mitigation Options using Nuclear and Related Techniques

This open access book is an outcome of the collaboration between the Soil and Water Management & Crop Nutrition Section, Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna, Austria, and the German Science Foundation research unit DASIM (Denitrification in Agricultural Soils: Integrated control and Modelling at various scales) and other institutes. It presents protocols, methodologies and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for measuring GHGs from different agroecosystems and animals using isotopic and related techniques that can also be used to validate climate-smart agricultural practices to mitigate GHGs. The material featured is useful for beginners in the field wanting an overview of the current methodologies, but also for experts who need hands-on descriptions of said methodologies. The book is written in form of a monograph and consists of eight chapters

Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Two Contrasting Beef Systems from Birth to Slaughter in Eastern Nebraska

Over the last 15 years, the increase in land use for corn and soybean has come at the expense of acres of grasslands and perennial forages employed in conventional beef-production systems. Implementing alternative cow-calf production systems into existing cropping systems may be a solution for reduced land availability and reducing total greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Therefore, GHG from a conventional (CONV) pasture-based cattle production system with cows wintered on corn residue and summer grazing of brome pasture were compared to partial-confinement system (ALT) with cows and calves in a drylot during the summer and grazing cover crops and corn residue over the fall and winter. Eddy covariance and pen chambers were used to measure emissions from grazing and confinement scenarios. Measured CH4 and modeled N2O emissions totaled 7.5 ± 0.3 and 7.4 ± 0.3 kg CO2e kg-1 HCW for CONV and ALT production, respectively. There was a measured uptake of 233 g C m-2 and 98 g C m-2 from brome pasture and cover crop, respectively. Accounting for CH4 and N2O emissions using global warming potential (GWP) of 23 and 298 resulted in a net sink of 0.7 ± 0.2 kg CO2e kg-1 HCW for CONV and a net source of 16.7 ± 1.5 kg CO2e kg-1 HCW for ALT. The same calculations using global warming potential (GWP) of 4 and 234 resulted in a net sink of 10.9 ± 1.0 kg CO2e kg-1 HCW for CONV and a net source of 7.1 ± 1.5 kg CO2e kg-1 HCW for ALT. Carbon sequestration from perennial grasslands in the CONV was enough to offset all emissions and biogenic CO2. Annual forage grazed in the ALT system offset 42 to 72% of systems emissions depending on GWP metric used. These net carbon results open new horizons to livestock carbon balance research and give evidence that grazing systems sequester carbon emissions from cattle and in some cases are a carbon sink. Advisors: Galen E. Erickson and Andy Suyke

Planet Earth 2011

The failure of the UN climate change summit in Copenhagen in December 2009 to effectively reach a global agreement on emission reduction targets, led many within the developing world to view this as a reversal of the Kyoto Protocol and an attempt by the developed nations to shirk out of their responsibility for climate change. The issue of global warming has been at the top of the political agenda for a number of years and has become even more pressing with the rapid industrialization taking place in China and India. This book looks at the effects of climate change throughout different regions of the world and discusses to what extent cleantech and environmental initiatives such as the destruction of fluorinated greenhouse gases, biofuels, and the role of plant breeding and biotechnology. The book concludes with an insight into the socio-religious impact that global warming has, citing Christianity and Islam

Evaluation of the ingestive behaviour of the dairy cow under two systems of rotation with slope

The ingestive behaviour of grazing animals is modulated by the vegetation characteristics, topography and the type of stocking method. This research was carried out in 2019, at the Rumipamba CADER-UCE. It aimed to evaluate the impact of two contrasting stocking methods of dairy cows grazing a pasture with an average of slope >8.5%. Four dairy cows were set to graze a 0.4 ha paddock for 5 days for continuous stocking methods, while for the electric fence methods the dairy cows were restricted to 0.2 ha and the fence was moved uphill every 3 hours, repeating this process four times a day. Cow were equipped with activity sensors for 12 h per day. The whole procedure was repeated 2 times after realizing an equalization cuts and both paddocks, a rest time of 30 days and a random reassignment of paddocks to one of the treatments. The cows showed a difference in terms of the percentage of grazing P=0.0072, being higher with the electric fence (55% of the measurement time). From rising-plate-meter estimates of available biomass along the grazing periods, we calculated despite similar forage allowances (electric fence = 48.06 kg DM/cow/d and continuous = 48.21 DM/cow/d) a higher forage intake was obtained in the electric fence treatment (17.5 kg DM/cow/d) compared the continuous stocking (15.7 kg DM/cow/d) (P=0.006). In terms of milk production animals grazing under the differences electrical fence stocking method tended (P=0.0985) to produce more milk (17.39 kg/d) than those grazing in the continuous system (15.16 kg/d) due to the influence of the slope (P=0.05), while for milk quality the protein content was higher for the electric fence (33.7 g/l) than the continuous method (30.5 g/l) (P=0.039). None of the other milk properties differed between methods (P>0.05)