Cattle Grazing Moderates Greenhouse Gas and Particulate Matter Emissions from California Grassland Wildfires

Felix Ratcliff, Sheila Barry, Devii Rao (), Rowan Peterson, Theresa Becchetti, Ermias Kebreab, Kaveh Motamed, Minju Jung and Frank Mitloehner
Additional contact information
Felix Ratcliff: LD Ford, Consultants in Rangeland Conservation Science, 5984 Plateau Drive, Felton, CA 95018, USA
Sheila Barry: University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Santa Clara County, 1553 Berger Drive, Bldg. 1, San Jose, CA 95112, USA
Devii Rao: University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, San Benito County, 3228 Southside, Hollister, CA 95023, USA
Rowan Peterson: Graduate Group in Ecology, University of California, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Theresa Becchetti: University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Stanislaus County, 3800 Cornucopia Way, Ste. A, Modesto, CA 95358, USA
Ermias Kebreab: Department of Animal Science, University of California, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Kaveh Motamed: LD Ford, Consultants in Rangeland Conservation Science, 5984 Plateau Drive, Felton, CA 95018, USA
Minju Jung: Department of Animal Science, University of California, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Frank Mitloehner: Department of Animal Science, University of California, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 18, 1-16

Abstract: Between 2010 and 2020, an average of 36,037 hectares of grassland burned in wildfires in California each year, emitting greenhouse gasses (GHGs) and particulate matter (PM). These emissions impact climate and human health. Cattle grazing removes herbaceous fuel through the consumption of forage; however, ruminant digestion also emits GHGs. The purpose of this study was to examine the GHG and PM impact of livestock grazing in grasslands that go on to burn. We used Monte Carlo simulation to determine whether forage consumption by livestock led to reductions in grassland wildfire emissions and whether these reductions outweighed the emissions from the digestion of that forage. We estimate that between 2010 and 2020, an average of 11,590 metric tons (MT) of herbaceous fuel were removed by cattle annually from grasslands in California that went on to burn. This resulted in annual wildfire emission reductions ranging between 0.001 and 0.025 million metric tons (MMT) of CO 2 equivalents (CO 2 e) and between 11 and 314 MT of PM 2.5 ; a small fraction of total GHG and PM emissions from wildfires in California. We also evaluated the change in emissions if burned grasslands in California’s Central and North Coast regions—where removing grazing can lead to the encroachment of shrubs into grasslands—were instead shrublands. If the grasslands that burned in these regions in 2020 had instead been shrublands, we estimate that as much as 0.90 MMT more CO 2 e and 8448 MT more PM 2.5 would have been emitted by wildfires, highlighting the long-term implications of livestock grazing.

Keywords: livestock; herbaceous fuel; Monte Carlo model; climate change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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