Evolution of farm and manure management and their influence on ammonia emissions from agriculture in Switzerland between 1990 and 2010

The evolution of farm and manure management and their influence on ammonia (NH3) emissions from agriculture in Switzerland between 1990 and 2010 was modeled. In 2010, total agricultural NH3 emissions were 48,290 t N. Livestock contributed 90% (43,480 t N), with the remaining 10% (4760 t N) coming from arable and fodder crops. The emission stages of grazing, housing/exercise yard, manure storage and application produced 3%, 34%, 17% and 46%, respectively, of livestock emissions. Cattle, pigs, poultry, small ruminants, horses and other equids accounted for 78%, 15%, 3%, 2% and 2%, respectively, of the emissions from livestock and manure management. Compared to 1990, total NH3 emissions from agriculture and from livestock decreased by 16% and 14%, respectively. This was mainly due to declining livestock numbers, since the emissions per animal became bigger for most livestock categories between 1990 and 2010. The production volume for milk and meat remained constant or increased slightly. Other factors contributing to the emission mitigation were increased grazing for cattle, the growing importance of low-emission slurry application techniques and a significant reduction in the use of mineral fertilizer. However, production parameters enhancing emissions such as animal-friendly housing systems providing more surface area per animal and total volume of slurry stores increased during this time period. That such developments may counteract emission mitigation illustrates the challenge for regulators to balance the various aims in the striving toward sustainable livestock production. A sensitivity analysis identified parameters related to the excretion of total ammoniacal nitrogen from dairy cows and slurry application as being the most sensitive technical parameters influencing emissions. Further improvements to emission models should therefore focus on these parameters

Ammonia emissions from a grazed field estimated by miniDOAS measurements and inverse dispersion modelling

Ammonia (NH3) fluxes were estimated from a field being grazed by dairy cattle during spring by applying a backward Lagrangian stochastic model (bLS) model combined with horizontal concentration gradients measured across the field. Continuous concentration measurements at field boundaries were made by open-path miniDOAS (differential optical absorption spectroscopy) instruments while the cattle were present and for 6 subsequent days. The deposition of emitted NH3 to "clean" patches on the field was also simulated, allowing both "net" and "gross" emission estimates, where the dry deposition velocity (vd) was predicted by a canopy resistance (Rc) model developed from local NH3 flux and meteorological measurements. Estimated emissions peaked during grazing and decreased after the cattle had left the field, while control on emissions was observed from covariance with temperature, wind speed and humidity and wetness measurements made on the field, revealing a diurnal emission profile. Large concentration differences were observed between downwind receptors, due to spatially heterogeneous emission patterns. This was likely caused by uneven cattle distribution and a low grazing density, where "hotspots" of emissions would arise as the cattle grouped in certain areas, such as around the water trough. The spatial complexity was accounted for by separating the model source area into sub-sections and optimising individual source area coefficients to measured concentrations. The background concentration was the greatest source of uncertainty, and based on a sensitivity/uncertainty analysis the overall uncertainty associated with derived emission factors from this study is at least 30–40 %

A new Swiss inventory of ammonia emissions from agriculture based on a survey on farm and manure management and farm-specific model calculations

Existing emission inventory approaches mainly rely on expert judgement for information on farm and manure management. To detect the relatively small changes of total annual ammonia (NH3) emissions required under the Gothenburg Protocol, expert judgement is considered insufficient. We present, therefore, here a new Swiss NH3 emission inventory based on a detailed representative stratified survey on farm and manure management conducted on 1950 farms. The survey data was used to calculate NH3 emissions with the emission model DYNAMO for each farm participating in the survey. This allowed the effects of the variability of farm and manure management parameters among farms on the NH3 emissions to be fully taken into account. Weighted emission factors per animal for 24 livestock categories and 36 farm classes were used to upscale to the national inventory. The stratified sampling and the individual farm calculations allowed the comparison of emissions from specific regions and altitudes and the study of the variability among farms. The new emission inventory approach permits a more detailed analysis of the regional distribution of NH3 emissions as well as a more robust and standardised monitoring of the future development of emissions

Assessing peri-urban land use for crop production

Remote sensing techniques and geographic information systems are suitable tools to asess land use for crop production in peri-urban areas, thus valuing the contribution of peri-urban agriculture to urban food supply

Country case studies

In this chapter, we present a series of country case studies, addressing specific challenges of reducing ammonia emissions and managing nitrogen on farm and field scale. Section 8.1 introduces nitrogen management activities in an intensively farmed region of Italy, while Sect. 8.2 addresses aspects of animal feed in Swiss pig farming. The following Sect. (8.3) illustrates N management in cattle and poultry operations in Switzerland. The assessment of ammonia abatement cost in dairy farming in the Russian Federation is covered in Sect. 8.4, with Sect. 8.5 discussing the costs of adoption of low ammonia emission slurry application methods on grassland in Ireland. A further case study on slurry application addresses the costs incurred by the trailing hose technique and by slurry dilution with water under Swiss frame conditions (Sect. 8.6). Section 8.7 highlights the estimated cost of abating volatilized ammonia from urea by urease inhibitors in the EU, and finally Sect. 8.8 discusses potential N2O reduction associated with the use of urease inhibitors in Spain

Legal Requirements on Ammonia Emissions from Animal Production Buildings in European Countries and in Countries at the Eastern Mediterranean

This chapter gathers information about the current legal requirements related to the emission of ammonia from animal housing in 24 out of the 27 EU countries and in 7 non-EU countries. Overall, the chapter shows that most of the included countries have established substantial procedures to limit ammonia emission and practically no procedures to limit greenhouse gas emission. The review can also be seen as an introduction to the substantial initiatives and decisions taken by the EU in relation to ammonia emission from animal housing, and as a notification on the absence of corresponding initiatives and decisions in relation to greenhouse gases. An EU directive on industrial emissions from 2010 and an implementation decision from 2017 are the main general instruments to reduce ammonia emission

Review of Legal Requirements on Ammonia and Greenhouse Gases Emissions from Animal Production Buildings in European countries

This review gathers information about the current legal requirements related to the emission of ammonia and greenhouse gases from animal housing in 21 out of the 28 EU countries and in 5 non-EU countries. Overall the review shows that most of the included countries have established substantial procedures to limit ammonia emission and practically no procedures to limit greenhouse gas emission. The review can also be seen as an introduction to the substantial initiatives and decisions taken by the EU in relation to ammonia emission from animal housing, and as a notification on the absence of corresponding initiatives and decisions in relation to greenhouse gases. An EU directive on industrial emissions from 2010 and an implementation decision from 2017 are the main general instruments to reduce ammonia emission from animal housing in the EU. These treaties put limits to ammonia emissions from installations with more than 2000 places for fattening pigs, with more than 750 places for sows and with more than 40,000 places for poultry. As an example, the upper general limit for fattening pigs is 2.6 kg ammonia per animal place per year. This review indicates that the important animal producing countries in the EU have implemented the EU requirements, and, that only a few countries with a large pig population, in relation to their geographical size, have implemented requirements that are stricter than what is required by the EU