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An LCA researcher's wish list – data and emission models needed to improve LCA studies of animal production

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 June 2013

C. Cederberg ,
M. Henriksson  and
M. Berglund
C. Cederberg*
Affiliation:
SIK, the Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology, PO Box 5401, SE-402 29 Gothenburg, Sweden Department of Energy and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, SE- 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
M. Henriksson
Affiliation:
Department of Rural Buildings and Animal Husbandry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 86, SE-23053 Alnarp, Sweden
M. Berglund
Affiliation:
SIK, the Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology, PO Box 5401, SE-402 29 Gothenburg, Sweden
*
E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The last decade has seen an increase in environmental systems analysis of livestock production, resulting in a significant number of studies with a holistic approach often based on life-cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The growing public interest in global warming has added to this development; guidelines for carbon footprint (CF) accounting have been developed, including for greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting of animal products.

Here we give an overview of methods for estimating GHG emissions, with emphasis on nitrous oxide, methane and carbon from land use change, presently used in LCA/CF studies of animal products. We discuss where methods and data availability for GHGs and nitrogen (N) compounds most urgently need to be improved in order to produce more accurate environmental assessments of livestock production. We conclude that the top priority is to improve models for N fluxes and emissions from soils and to implement soil carbon change models in LCA/CF studies of animal products. We also point at the need for more farm data and studies measuring emissions from soils, manure and livestock in developing countries.

Keywords

life-cycle assessmentcarbon footprintlivestock productiongreenhouse gas emissionsmethodology
Type
Full Paper
Information
animal , Volume 7 , Issue s2: Greenhouse Gases & Animal Agriculture Conference (GGAA 2013), 23rd ‐ 26th June 2013, Dublin, Ireland , June 2013 , pp. 212 - 219
Copyright
Copyright © The Animal Consortium 2013 

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