Methane-suppressing effect of myristic acid in sheep as affected by dietary calcium and forage proportion

The efficiency of myristic acid (14:0) as a feed additive to suppress CH4 emissions of ruminants was evaluated under different dietary conditions. Six sheep were subjected to a 6 × 6 Latin square arrangement. A supplement of non-esterified 14: 0 (50 g/kg DM) was added to two basal diets differing in their forage:concentrate values (1:1/5 and 1: 0/5), which were adjusted to dietary Ca contents of 4/2 and 9/0 g/ kg DM, respectively. Comparisons were made with the unsupplemented basal diets (4/2 g Ca/kg DM). The 14:0 supplementation decreased (P < 0/001) total tract CH4 release depending on basal diet type (interaction, P < 0/001) and dietary Ca level (P < 0/05, post hoc test). In the concentrate-based diet, 14:0 suppressed CH4 emission by 58 and 47% with 4/2 and 9/0 g Ca/kg DM, respectively. The 14:0 effect was lower (22%) in the forage-based diet and became insignificant with additional Ca. Myristic acid inhibited (P < 0/05) rumen archaea without significantly altering proportions of individual methanogen orders. Ciliate protozoa concentration was decreased (P < 0/05, post hoc test) by 14:0 only in combination with 9/0 g Ca/kg DM. Rumen fluid NH3 concentration and acetate:pro-pionate were decreased (P < 0/05) and water consumption was lower (P < 0/01) with 14:0. The use of 14:0 had no clear effects on total tract organic matter and fibre digestion; this further illustrates that the suppressed methanogenesis resulted from direct effects against methanogens. The present study demonstrated that 14:0 is a potent CH4 inhibitor but, to be effective in CH4 mitigation feeding strategies, interactions with other diet ingredients have to be considere

Rumen simulation technique study on the interactions of dietary lauric and myristic acid supplementation in suppressing ruminal methanogenesis

The interactions of lauric (C12) and myristic acid (C14) in suppressing ruminal methanogenesis and methanogens were investigated with the rumen simulation technique (Rusitec) using bovine ruminal fluid. The fatty acids were added to basal substrates (grass hay:concentrate, 1:1.5) at a level of 48 g/kg DM, provided in C12:C14 ratios of 5:0, 4:1, 3:2, 2·5:2.5, 2:3, 1:4 and 0:5. Additionally, an unsupplemented control consisting of the basal substrates only was employed. Incubation periods lasted for 15 (n 4) and 25 (n 2) d. CH4 formation was depressed by any fatty acid mixture containing at least 40 % C12, and effects persisted over the complete incubation periods. The greatest depression (70 % relative to control) occurred with a C12:C14 ratio of 4:1, whereas the second most effective treatment in suppressing CH4 production (60 % relative to control) was found with a ratio of 3:2. Total methanogenic counts were decreased by those mixtures of C12 and C14 also successful in suppressing methanogenesis, the 4:1 treatment being most efficient (60 % decline). With this treatment in particular, the composition of the methanogenic population was altered in such a way that the proportion of Methanococcales increased and Methanobacteriales decreased. Initially, CH4 suppression was associated with a decreased fibre degradation, which, however, was reversed after 10 d of incubation. The present study demonstrated a clear synergistic effect of mixtures of C12 and C14 in suppressing methanogenesis, mediated probably by direct inhibitory effects of the fatty acids on the methanogen

Methane-suppressing effect of myristic acid in sheep as affected by dietary calcium and forage proportion

ISSN:0007-1145ISSN:1475-266

Effect of coconut oil and defaunation treatment on methanogenesis in sheep

The present study was conducted to evaluate in vivo the role of rumen ciliate protozoa with respect to the methane-suppressing effect of coconut oil. Three sheep were subjected to a 2 $\times$ 2 factorial design comprising two types of dietary lipids (50 g$\cdot$kg$^{-1}$ coconut oil vs. 50 g$\cdot$kg$^{-1}$ rumen-protected fat) and defaunation treatment (with vs. without). Due to the defaunation treatment, which reduced the rumen ciliate protozoa population by 94% on average, total tract fibre degradation was reduced but not the methane production. Feeding coconut oil significantly reduced daily methane release without negatively affecting the total tract nutrient digestion. Compared with the rumen-protected fat diet, coconut oil did not alter the energy retention of the animals. There was no interaction between coconut oil feeding and defaunation treatment in methane production. An interaction occurred in the concentration of methanogens in the rumen fluid, with the significantly highest values occurring when the animals received the coconut oil diet and were subjected to the defaunation treatment. Possible explanations for the apparent inconsistency between the amount of methane produced and the concentration of methane-producing microbes are discussed. Generally, the present data illustrate that a depression of the concentration of ciliate protozoa or methanogens in rumen fluid cannot be used as a reliable indicator for the success of a strategy to mitigate methane emission in vivo. The methane-suppressing effect of coconut oil seems to be mediated through a changed metabolic activity and/or composition of the rumen methanogenic population

Rumen simulation technique study on the interactions of dietary lauric and myristic acid supplementation in suppressing ruminal methanogenesis

ISSN:0007-1145ISSN:1475-266

Setting up a bioeconomy monitoring: Resource base and sustainability

The transition of the current economic system from non-renewable and fossil-based towards a more sustainable system using renewable resources is a dedicated objective of the German Na-tional Bioeconomy Strategy. In order to provide sound information on the status of the bioecon-omy, a monitoring concept that assesses the bio-based resources and sustainability effects associ-ated with German bioeconomy was developed. The general monitoring approach includes a definition of the bioeconomy and its implementation in terms of material flows and economic sectors at a given point in time. Based on this, available data is collected and bio-based material flows and economic sectors are quantified. These quanti-fications are used in the following sustainability assessment of material flows and economic sec-tors. This procedure can be repeated, starting again with a definition of bioeconomy that may change over time according to changing policies, market development and public perceptions of bioeconomy. Thus, bioeconomy monitoring considers the dynamics of the bioeconomy transition concerning processes, products, available data and connected sustainability goals. Understanding and quantifying material flows provides the foundation for comprehending the pro-cessing of biomass along value chains and final biomass uses. They also provide information for sustainability assessment. For biomass from agriculture, forests and fisheries including aquacul-ture, relevant material flows are compiled. Material flow data is not available consistently but must be collected from a broad variety of sources. Consequently, inconsistencies regarding reference units and conversion factors arise that need to be addressed further in a future monitoring. Bio-based shares of economic sectors can be quantified using mostly official statistics, but also empirical data. Bio-based shares vary considerably between economic activities. The manufacture of food products, beverages and wooden products has the highest bio-based shares. Bioeconomy target sectors like chemicals, plastics and construction still have rather small bio-based shares. The suggested assessment of sustainability effects foresees two complimentary levels of evalua-tion: material flows and economic sectors. The latter quantifies total effects of bioeconomy in a country and relates them to the whole economy or parts of it. The presented indicators were se-lected based on the Sustainability Development Goal Framework, the German Sustainable Devel-opment Strategy and the availability of data. The selection of effects and indicators to be measured in a future monitoring is a crucial point of any quantification. With sustainability being a normative concept, societal perceptions of sustainability should be taken into consideration here. In that con-text, we suggest to follow the approach of LOFASA for indicator selection. Sustainability assess-ment of material flows is demonstrated on the example of softwood lumber material flow and its core product EPAL 1 pallet using a combination of material flow analysis and life cycle assessment. Major challenges for a future monitoring of the bioeconomy’s resource base and sustainability are availability of detailed and aggregated data, identification of bio-based processes and products within the economic classifications, identification and quantification of interfaces between bio-mass types, selection of indicators for sustainability assessment and the inclusion of bio-based ser-vices

Pilotbericht zum Monitoring der deutschen Bioökonomie

Der Pilotbericht umfasst die Ergebnisse des Forschungsprojekts SYMOBIO. Er wurde vom Center for Environmental Systems Research (CESR) der Universität Kassel und dem Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut (TI), Bundesforschungsinstitut für Ländliche Räume, Wald und Fischerei mit den Fachinstituten für Marktanalyse (TI-MA), für Internationale Waldwirtschaft und Forstökonomie (TI-WF) und für Seefischerei (TI-SF) zusammen mit Kooperationspartnern des SYMOBIO-Projekts erstellt. Gesamtkoordination: Prof. Dr. Stefan Bringezu (CESR) in Kooperation mit Prof. Dr. Martin Banse (TI)Gesamtkoordination: Prof. Dr. Stefan Bringezu (CESR) in Kooperation mit Prof. Dr. Martin Banse (TI)BMBF (Förderkennzeichen 031B0281A

Pilot report on the monitoring of the German bioeconomy

This report was prepared by the Center for Environmental Systems Research (CESR) of the University of Kassel and the Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute (TI), Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forests and Fisheries with the Specialist Institutes for Market Analysis (TI-MA) in Braunschweig, for International Forestry and Forest Economics (TI-WF) in Hamburg and for Sea Fisheries (TI-SF), together with partners of the SYMOBIO project.Overall coordination: Prof. Dr. Stefan Bringezu (CESR) in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Martin Banse (TI)German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Grant number: 031B0281A