Interventions to reduce enteric methane emissions in early life of cattle

已经提出了几种干预措施来减少畜牧业生产产生的温室气体(GHG)排放。特别是，有一些甲烷抑制剂(例如，3-硝氧基丙醇(3-NOP)、海藻活性化合物、单宁)在喂牛时可能会减少碳足迹。最近的一项研究表明，在犊牛生命的早期阶段服用一些抗甲烷化合物，在服用3-NOP的同时，可以使犊牛的甲烷排放量减少11.6%，但也具有持久的效果，在停止服用3-NOP一年后，排放量减少了17.5%。然而，先前的研究是在奶牛条件下进行的，其中犊牛饲喂代乳剂或全混合日粮(TMR)，随后的研究表明，在牧场条件下，3-NOP的抗甲烷特性效果较差。这些抗甲烷干预措施可能会影响瘤胃中的微生物种群，并可能在减少甲烷排放方面产生中期或长期效果。此外，如果在以后的生活中将这种干预措施与其他缓解战略结合起来，例如，可穿戴设备将呼出的甲烷氧化成二氧化碳(CO2)和水蒸气(H2O)，它们的共同作用可能会大幅减少畜牧业的温室气体排放。因此，该项目的目标是评估在出生后头两周内给犊牛注射抗甲烷化合物是否能减少不同生命阶段(即犊牛、生长牛或肥育阶段)以及不同饲养制度下的甲烷排放：例如，直到断奶、青贮料饲养和放牧条件下。此外，该项目旨在评估ZELP可穿戴设备等农业技术工具的潜力，这些工具能够将呼出的甲烷氧化成二氧化碳和水，并特别强调其减少年轻种群甲烷排放的潜力。所有这些干预措施都将通过生命周期评估(LCA)在系统水平上对其对碳足迹的影响进行全面评估。博士论文将涉及以下评估任务：T1：抗甲烷技术对犊牛早期肠道甲烷排放的短期影响。T2：早期抗甲烷菌干预对放牧或消费青贮T3时犊牛肠道甲烷排放的中长期影响：干预如何影响Zelp可穿戴材料作为第二种甲烷排放抑制剂T4的潜在使用：为了比较目的和确定最佳缓解策略，对上述条件进行LCA

Several interventions have been proposed for mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions arising from livestock production. In particular, there are some methane inhibitors (e.g., 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP), active compounds from seaweeds, tannins) that possess potential reductions to carbon footprints when fed to cattle. A recent study has shown that some anti-methanogen compounds administrated at early stages of dairy calves' life reduced the calves methane emissions by 11.6% while the 3-NOP was administered, but also had a lasting effect, reducing the emissions by 17.5% after one year of ceasing 3-NOP administration. However, the previous study was undertaken under dairy conditions where calves were feed either milk replacer or a total mixed ration (TMR), and subsequent research has shown that the 3-NOP anti-methanogen properties are less effective under pasture-based conditions. These anti-methanogen interventions may affect the microorganism populations inhabiting the rumen and could have a mid- or long-term effect in reducing methane emissions. Moreover, if such interventions are combined with additional mitigation strategies later in life, e.g., wearable devices to oxidise the methane exhaled into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapour (H2O) their joint effect might produce substantial reductions in GHG emissions from the livestock sector. Therefore, the objective of this project is to assess whether anti-methanogen compounds administrated within the first two weeks of life to calves reduce methane emissions at different life stages, i.e., calf, growing steer or finishing stage and under different feedings regimes: e.g., until weaning, silage feeding, and under grazing conditions. Moreover, this project aims to assess the potential of agritech tools like ZELP wearables, capable of oxidising methane exhaled into CO2 and H2O, with a particular emphasis on its potential to reduce methane emissions of young stock. All these interventions will be assessed in a comprehensive way with regard to their impact on the carbon footprint at a system level through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).The PhD thesis will involve the following Tasks to assess: T1: The short-term effect of anti-methanogen technologies on calves' early life enteric methane emissions. T2: The mid/long-term effect of the early anti-methanogen intervention on calves' enteric methane emissions whilegrazing or consuming silage T3: How the intervention affects the potential usage of Zelp wearables as a second methane emissions inhibitor T4: To undertake a LCA of the aforementioned conditions for comparative purposes and identification of optimalmitigation strategies