Environmental impact of dairy buffalo heifers kept on pasture or in confinement

Emilio Sabia, Fabio Napolitano, Salvatore Claps, Giuseppe De Rosa, Vittoria Lucia Barile, Ada Braghieri and Corrado Pacelli

Agricultural Systems, 2018, vol. 159, issue C, 42-49

Abstract: In western countries buffaloes are emerging as an alternative species for dairy product differentiation. In the near future dairy enterprises will have to meet increasing environmental regulations. Life Cycle Assessment has been widely used to assess the environmental impact of different milk production systems. We aimed to examine the environmental consequences of two dairy buffalo heifer farming systems using the Life Cycle Assessment approach. The primary data were collected from 32 subjects aged 7–8months at the start of the experiment until they reached the age of puberty in about 12months (i.e. at the age of 19–20months). Sixteen animals were group-housed and confined in an indoor slatted floor pen (4m2/animal) with an outdoor paddock (4m2/animal); 16 others free-ranged on a Mediterranean natural pasture. The environmental charges for global warming potential expressed in terms of total emissions of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-eq) was 35.7% less in the free-ranging system as compared with the confined system. The main source of pollution for the confined system was biogenic methane (total amount produced=2012kg CO2-eq) followed by CO2 from fossil fuels (total amount produced=1006kg CO2-eq). The environmental charges for acidification potential, eutrophication potential and non-renewable energy use were 86.3%. 60.0% and 81.4% lower in the free-ranging system compared with the confined system, respectively. In the confined system the largest pollutant in terms of acidification potential was ammonia, whereas nitrate leaching in water (total amount produced=3311g SO2-eq) and the use of crude oil (total amount consumed=5684MJ-eq) were the most relevant for eutrophication potential and non-renewable energy use, respectively.

Keywords: Life cycle assessment; Buffalo heifer; Mediterranean natural pasture; Environmental sustainability; Grazing; Livestock management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:agisys:v:159:y:2018:i:c:p:42-49

DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2017.10.010

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