Climate change mitigation through intensified pasture management: Estimating greenhouse gas emissions on cattle farms in the Brazilian Amazon

Cattle ranching in Brazil is a key driver of deforestation and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Brazilian government plans to reduce national GHG emissions by at least 36%, partly by reducing emissions in the livestock sector through strategies such as intensification, pasture improvement, and ro...

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Autores principales: Bogaerts, Meghan, Cirhigiri, Lora, Robinson, Ian, Rodkin, Mikaela, Hajjar, Reem, Costa, Ciniro, Newton, Peter
Formato: Artículo preliminar
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/77771
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author Bogaerts, Meghan
Cirhigiri, Lora
Robinson, Ian
Rodkin, Mikaela
Hajjar, Reem
Costa, Ciniro
Newton, Peter
author_browse Bogaerts, Meghan
Cirhigiri, Lora
Costa, Ciniro
Hajjar, Reem
Newton, Peter
Robinson, Ian
Rodkin, Mikaela
author_facet Bogaerts, Meghan
Cirhigiri, Lora
Robinson, Ian
Rodkin, Mikaela
Hajjar, Reem
Costa, Ciniro
Newton, Peter
author_sort Bogaerts, Meghan
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Cattle ranching in Brazil is a key driver of deforestation and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Brazilian government plans to reduce national GHG emissions by at least 36%, partly by reducing emissions in the livestock sector through strategies such as intensification, pasture improvement, and rotational grazing. We surveyed 40 cattle ranchers located in the Brazilian Amazon biome to investigate how GHG emissions differed between farms participating in livestock sustainability programs with intensified production and farms not participating in these programs. We found that participating farms produced 8.3 kg of CO2e/kg of beef than did non-participating farms, which represents 19% fewer emissions. Farms that had participated in a sustainability program for at least two years showed larger differences in emissions: 19.0 kg of CO2e/kg of beef less for program farms compared with their counterparts, or 35.8% fewer emissions. Key drivers of the total CO2e/kg of beef in all farms were enteric fermentation and manure management. This paper provides farm-level data supporting intensification as a possible strategy to reduce emissions per kilogram of beef produced, and suggests implications for policy and future research.
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spelling CGSpace777712024-01-23T12:04:22Z Climate change mitigation through intensified pasture management: Estimating greenhouse gas emissions on cattle farms in the Brazilian Amazon Bogaerts, Meghan Cirhigiri, Lora Robinson, Ian Rodkin, Mikaela Hajjar, Reem Costa, Ciniro Newton, Peter climate change food security agriculture livestock Cattle ranching in Brazil is a key driver of deforestation and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Brazilian government plans to reduce national GHG emissions by at least 36%, partly by reducing emissions in the livestock sector through strategies such as intensification, pasture improvement, and rotational grazing. We surveyed 40 cattle ranchers located in the Brazilian Amazon biome to investigate how GHG emissions differed between farms participating in livestock sustainability programs with intensified production and farms not participating in these programs. We found that participating farms produced 8.3 kg of CO2e/kg of beef than did non-participating farms, which represents 19% fewer emissions. Farms that had participated in a sustainability program for at least two years showed larger differences in emissions: 19.0 kg of CO2e/kg of beef less for program farms compared with their counterparts, or 35.8% fewer emissions. Key drivers of the total CO2e/kg of beef in all farms were enteric fermentation and manure management. This paper provides farm-level data supporting intensification as a possible strategy to reduce emissions per kilogram of beef produced, and suggests implications for policy and future research. 2016-11-16 2016-11-17T11:35:18Z 2016-11-17T11:35:18Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/77771 en Open Access application/pdf Bogaerts M, Cirhigiri L, Robinson I, Rodkin M, Hajjar R, Costa Junior, C, Newton P. 2016. Climate change mitigation through intensified pasture management: Estimating greenhouse gas emissions on cattle farms in the Brazilian Amazon. CCAFS Working Paper no. 188. Copenhagen, Denmark: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).
spellingShingle climate change
food security
agriculture
livestock
Bogaerts, Meghan
Cirhigiri, Lora
Robinson, Ian
Rodkin, Mikaela
Hajjar, Reem
Costa, Ciniro
Newton, Peter
Climate change mitigation through intensified pasture management: Estimating greenhouse gas emissions on cattle farms in the Brazilian Amazon
title Climate change mitigation through intensified pasture management: Estimating greenhouse gas emissions on cattle farms in the Brazilian Amazon
title_full Climate change mitigation through intensified pasture management: Estimating greenhouse gas emissions on cattle farms in the Brazilian Amazon
title_fullStr Climate change mitigation through intensified pasture management: Estimating greenhouse gas emissions on cattle farms in the Brazilian Amazon
title_full_unstemmed Climate change mitigation through intensified pasture management: Estimating greenhouse gas emissions on cattle farms in the Brazilian Amazon
title_short Climate change mitigation through intensified pasture management: Estimating greenhouse gas emissions on cattle farms in the Brazilian Amazon
title_sort climate change mitigation through intensified pasture management estimating greenhouse gas emissions on cattle farms in the brazilian amazon
topic climate change
food security
agriculture
livestock
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/77771
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