Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T05:25:20.939Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Strategies to mitigate nitrous oxide emissions from herbivore production systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2011

R. L. M. Schils*
Affiliation:
ALTERRA, Wageningen University and Research Centre, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
J. Eriksen
Affiliation:
Department of Agroecology and Environment, University of Aarhus, PO Box 50, Tjele, Denmark
S. F. Ledgard
Affiliation:
AgResearch Ltd, Ruakura Research Centre, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton, New Zealand
Th. V. Vellinga
Affiliation:
Livestock Research, Wageningen University and Research Centre, PO Box 65, 8200 AB Lelystad, the Netherlands
P. J. Kuikman
Affiliation:
ALTERRA, Wageningen University and Research Centre, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
J. Luo
Affiliation:
AgResearch Ltd, Ruakura Research Centre, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton, New Zealand
S. O. Petersen
Affiliation:
Department of Agroecology and Environment, University of Aarhus, PO Box 50, Tjele, Denmark
G. L. Velthof
Affiliation:
ALTERRA, Wageningen University and Research Centre, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
*
Get access

Abstract

Herbivores are a significant source of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. They account for a large share of manure-related N2O emissions, as well as soil-related N2O emissions through the use of grazing land, and land for feed and forage production. It is widely acknowledged that mitigation measures are necessary to avoid an increase in N2O emissions while meeting the growing global food demand. The production and emissions of N2O are closely linked to the efficiency of nitrogen (N) transfer between the major components of a livestock system, that is, animal, manure, soil and crop. Therefore, mitigation options in this paper have been structured along these N pathways. Mitigation technologies involving diet-based intervention include lowering the CP content or increasing the condensed tannin content of the diet. Animal-related mitigation options also include breeding for improved N conversion and high animal productivity. The main soil-based mitigation measures include efficient use of fertilizer and manure, including the use of nitrification inhibitors. In pasture-based systems with animal housing facilities, reducing grazing time is an effective option to reduce N2O losses. Crop-based options comprise breeding efforts for increased N-use efficiency and the use of pastures with N2-fixing clover. It is important to recognize that all N2O mitigation options affect the N and carbon cycles of livestock systems. Therefore, care should be taken that reductions in N2O emissions are not offset by unwanted increases in ammonia, methane or carbon dioxide emissions. Despite the abundant availability of mitigation options, implementation in practice is still lagging. Actual implementation will only follow after increased awareness among farmers and greenhouse gases targeted policies. So far, reductions in N2O emissions that have been achieved are mostly a positive side effect of other N-targeted policies.

Type
Full Paper
Copyright
Copyright © The Animal Consortium 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amon, B, Kryvoruchko, V, Amon, T, Zechmeister-Boltenstern, S 2006. Methane, nitrous oxide and ammonia emissions during storage and after application of dairy cattle slurry and influence of slurry treatment. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 112, 153162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baggs, EM 2008. A review of stable isotope techniques for N2O source partitioning in soils: recent progress, remaining challenges and future considerations. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 22, 16641672.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bannink, A, Smits, MCJ, Kebreab, E, Mills, JAN, Ellis, JL, Klop, A, France, J, Dijkstra, J 2010. Simulating the effects of grassland management and grass ensiling on methane emission from lactating cows. Journal of Agricultural Science 148, 5572.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bateman, EJ, Baggs, EM 2005. Contributions of nitrification and denitrification to N2O emissions from soils at different water-filled pore space. Biology and Fertility of Soils 41, 379388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bollmann, A, Conrad, R 1998. Influence of O2 availability on NO and N2O release by nitrification and denitrification in soils. Global Change Biology 4, 387396.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bouwman, AF, Lee, DS, Asman, WAH, Dentener, FJ, Van Der Hoek, KW, Olivier, JGJ 1997. A global high-resolution emission inventory for ammonia. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 11, 561587.Google Scholar
Brown, L, Jarvis, SC, Headon, D 2001. A farm-scale basis for predicting nitrous oxide emissions from dairy farms. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 60, 149158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carulla, JE, Kreuzer, M, Machmüller, A, Hess, HD 2005. Supplementation of Acacia mearnsii tannins decreases methanogenesis and urinary nitrogen in forage-fed sheep. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 56, 961970.Google Scholar
Chadwick, DR 2005. Emissions of ammonia, nitrous oxide and methane from cattle manure heaps: effect of compaction and covering. Atmospheric Environment 39, 787799.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clayton, H, McTaggart, IP, Parker, J, Swan, L, Smith, KA 1997. Nitrous oxide emissions from fertilised grassland: a 2-year study of the effects of N fertiliser form and environmental conditions. Biology and Fertility of Soils 25, 252260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clemens, J, Trimborn, M, Weiland, P, Amon, B 2006. Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions by anaerobic digestion of cattle slurry. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 112, 171177.Google Scholar
Crutzen, PJ, Mosier, AR, Smith, KA, Winiwarter, W 2008. N2O release from agro-biofuel production negates global warming reduction by replacing fossil fuels. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 8, 389395.Google Scholar
Dalal, RC, Wang, WJ, Robertson, GP, Parton, WJ 2003. Nitrous oxide emission from Australian agricultural lands and mitigation options: a review. Australian Journal of Soil Research 41, 165195.Google Scholar
Davidson, EA 2009. The contribution of manure and fertilizer nitrogen to atmospheric nitrous oxide since 1860. Nature Geoscience 2, 659662.Google Scholar
Davies, MG, Smith, KA, Vinten, AJA 2001. The mineralisation and fate of nitrogen following ploughing of grass and grass-clover swards. Biology and Fertility of Soils 33, 423434.Google Scholar
De Klein, CAM, Ledgard, SF 2005. Nitrous oxide emissions from New Zealand agriculture – key sources and mitigation strategies. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 72, 7785.Google Scholar
De Klein, CAM, Smith, LC, Monaghan, RM 2006. Restricted autumn grazing to reduce nitrous oxide emissions from dairy pastures in Southland, New Zealand. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 112, 192199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Klein, CAM, Eckard, RJ, Van der Weerden, TJ 2010. Nitrous oxide emissions from the nitrogen cycle in livestock agriculture: estimation and mitigation. In Nitrous oxide and climate change (ed. K Smith), pp. 107142. Earthscan, London.Google Scholar
De Klein, CAM, Sherlock, RR, Cameron, KC, van der Weerden, TJ 2001. Nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural soils in New Zealand – a review of current knowledge and directions for future research. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 31, 543574.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Del Prado, A, Merino, P, Estavillo, JM, Pinto, M, Gonzalez-Murua, C 2006. N2O and NO emissions from different N sources and under a range of soil water contents. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 74, 229243.Google Scholar
Di, HJ, Cameron, KC 2006. Nitrous oxide emissions from two dairy pasture soils as affected by different rates of a fine particle suspension nitrification inhibitor, dicyandiamide. Biology and Fertility of Soils 42, 472480.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Di, HJ, Cameron, KC, Sherlock, RR 2007. Comparison of the effectiveness of a nitrification inhibitor, dicyandiamide, in reducing nitrous oxide emissions in four different soils under different climatic and management conditions. Soil Use and Management 23, 19.Google Scholar
Dittert, K, Lampe, C, Gasche, R, Butterbach-Bahl, K, Wachendorf, M, Papen, H, Sattelmacher, B, Taube, F 2005. Short-term effects of single or combined application of mineral N fertilizer and cattle slurry on the fluxes of radiatively active trace gases from grassland soil. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 37, 16651674.Google Scholar
Eckard, R, Johnson, I, Chapman, D 2006. Modelling nitrous oxide abatement strategies in intensive pasture systems. International Congress Series 1293, 7685.Google Scholar
Eckard, RJ, Grainger, C, De Klein, CAM 2010. Options for the abatement of methane and nitrous oxide from ruminant production: a review. Livestock Science 130, 4756.Google Scholar
Eckard, RJ, Chen, D, White, RE, Chapman, DF 2003. Gaseous nitrogen loss from temperate perennial grass and clover dairy pastures in south-eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 54, 561570.Google Scholar
Eriksen, J 2001. Nitrate leaching and growth of cereal crops following cultivation of contrasting temporary grasslands. Journal of Agricultural Science 136, 271281.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eriksen, J, Askegaard, M, Søegaard, K 2008. Residual effect and nitrate leaching in grass–arable rotations: effect of grassland proportion, sward type and fertilizer history. Soil Use and Management 24, 373382.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fillery, IRP 2007. Plant-based manipulation of nitrification in soil: a new approach to managing N loss? Plant and Soil 294, 14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flessa, H, Beese, F 2000. Laboratory estimates of trace gas emissions following surface application and injection of cattle slurry. Journal of Environmental Quality 29, 262268.Google Scholar
Gill, M, Smith, P, Wilkinson, JM 2010. Mitigating climate change: the role of domestic livestock. Animal 4, 323333.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Godfray, HCJ, Crute, IR, Haddad, L, Muir, JF, Nisbett, N, Lawrence, D, Pretty, J, Robinson, S, Toulmin, C, Whiteley, R 2010. The future of the global food system. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 365, 27692777.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grainger, C, Clarke, T, Auldist, MJ, Beauchemin, KA, McGinn, SM, Waghorn, GC, Eckard, RJ 2009. Potential use of Acacia mearnsii condensed tannins to reduce methane emissions and nitrogen excretion from grazing dairy cows. Paissance 89, 241251.Google Scholar
Groot, JCJ, Rossing, WAH, Lantinga, EA 2006. Evolution of farm management, nitrogen efficiency and economic performance on Dutch dairy farms reducing external inputs. Livestock Science 100, 99110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, RR, Nielsen, DA, Schramm, A, Nielsen, LP, Revsbech, NP, Hansen, MN 2009. Greenhouse gas microbiology in wet and dry straw crust covering pig slurry. Journal of Environmental Quality 38, 13111319.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hao, X, Chang, C, Larney, FJ, Travis, GR 2001. Greenhouse gas emissions during cattle feedlot manure composting. Journal of Environmental Quality 30, 376386.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoogendoorn, CJ, De Klein, CAM, Rutherford, AJ, Letica, S, Devantier, BP 2008. The effect of increasing rates of nitrogen fertiliser and a nitrification inhibitor on nitrous oxide emissions from urine patches on sheep grazed hill country pasture. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 48, 147151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2006. Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. Prepared by the National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme (ed. HS Eggleston, L Buendia, K Miwa, T Ngara and K Tanabe). IGES, Japan.Google Scholar
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2007. Climate Change 2007: synthesis report. In Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (ed. RK Pachauri and A Reisinger), 104pp. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland.Google Scholar
Jones, HE, Warkup, CC, Williams, A, Audsley, E 2008. The effect of genetic improvement on emissions from livestock systems. Conference of the 59th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Animal Production, Vilnius, Session 05, No. 06, p. 28.Google Scholar
Kool, DM, Hoffland, E, Hummelink, EWJ, van Groenigen, JW 2006. Increased hippuric acid content of urine can reduce soil N2O fluxes. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 38, 10211027.Google Scholar
Kool, DM, Dolfing, J, Wrage, N, Van Groenigen, JW 2011. Nitrifier denitrification as a distinct and significant source of nitrous oxide from soil. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 43, 174178.Google Scholar
Kool, DM, Wrage, N, Zechmeister-Boltenstern, S, Pfeffer, M, Brus, D, Oenema, O, Van Groenigen, JW 2010. Nitrifier denitrification can be a source of N2O from soil: a revised approach to the dual-isotope labelling method. European Journal of Soil Science 61, 759772.Google Scholar
Kreula, M, Rauramaa, A, Ettala, T 1978. The effect of feeding on the hippuric acid content of cow's urine. Journal of the Scientific Agricultural Society of Finland 50, 372377.Google Scholar
Kristensen, T, Mogensen, L, Knudsen, MT, Hermansen, JE 2011. Effect of production system and farming strategy on greenhouse gas emissions from commercial dairy farms in a life cycle approach. Livestock Sciences 140, 136148.Google Scholar
Ledgard, S, Schils, R, Eriksen, J, Luo, J 2009. Environmental impacts of grazed clover/grass pastures. Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research 48, 209226.Google Scholar
Ledgard, SF, Lieffering, M, McDevitt, J, Boyes, M, Kemp, R 2010. A greenhouse gas footprint study for exported New Zealand lamb. Report for Meat Industry Association, Ballance Agri-nutrients, Landcorp and MAF. AgResearch, Hamilton, 26pp.Google Scholar
Ledgard, SF, Menneer, JC, Welten, B, Kear, MJ, Dexter, MM, Lindsey, SB, Betteridge, K, Crush, JR, Pacheco, D 2007. New nitrogen mitigation technologies for evaluation in the lake Taupo catchment. Proceedings of the workshop “Design sustainable farms, critical aspects of soil and water management” Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand, pp. 1924.Google Scholar
Lesschen, JP, van den Berg, H, Westhoek, H, Witzke, HP, Oenema, O 2011. Greenhouse gas emission profiles of the European livestock sectors. Animal Feed Science and Technology 166, 1628.Google Scholar
Luo, J, Tillman, RW, Ball, PR 2000. Nitrogen loss through denitrification in a soil under pasture in New Zealand. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 32, 497509.Google Scholar
Luo, J, Ledgard, SF, Lindsey, SB 2008a. A test of a winter farm management option for mitigating nitrous oxide emissions from a dairy farm. Soil Use and Management 24, 121130.Google Scholar
Luo, J, Ledgard, SF, De Klein, CAM, Lindsey, SB, Kear, M 2008b. Effects of dairy farming intensification on nitrous oxide emissions. Plant and Soil 309, 227237.Google Scholar
Misselbrook, TH, Powell, JM, Broderick, GA, Grabber, JH 2005. Dietary manipulation in dairy cattle: laboratory experiments to assess the influence on ammonia emissions. Journal of Dairy Science 88, 17651777.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Monteny, GJ, Bannink, A, Chadwick, D 2006. Greenhouse gas abatement strategies for animal husbandry. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 112, 163170.Google Scholar
Mosier, A, Kroeze, C, Nevison, C, Oenema, O, Seitzinger, S, van Cleemput, O 1998. Closing the global N2O budget: nitrous oxide emissions through the agricultural nitrogen cycle – OECD/IPCC/IEA phase II development of IPCC guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventory methodology. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 52, 225248.Google Scholar
Mosquera Losada, J, Schils, RLM, Groenestein, CM, Hoeksma, P, Velthof, GL, Hummelink, EWJ 2010. Emissies van lachgas, methaan en ammoniak uit mest na scheiding (Emissions of nitrous oxide, methane and ammonia from manure after separation). Wageningen UR Livestock Research, Lelystad, 47pp.Google Scholar
Nielsen, DA, Nielsen, LP, Schramm, A, Revsbech, NP 2010. Oxygen distribution and potential ammonia oxidation in floating, liquid manure crusts. Journal of Environmental Quality 39, 18131820.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oenema, O, Velthof, GL 1993. Denitrification in nitric-acid-treated cattle slurry during storage. Netherlands Journal of Agricultural Science 41, 6380.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oenema, O, Velthof, G, Kuikman, P 2001. Technical and policy aspects of strategies to decrease greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 60, 301315.Google Scholar
Oenema, O, Wrage, N, Velthof, GL, Van Groenigen, JW, Dolfing, J, Kuikman, PJ 2005. Trends in global nitrous oxide emissions from animal production systems. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 72, 5165.Google Scholar
Petersen, SO, Sommer, SG 2011. Ammonia and nitrous oxide interactions: roles of manure organic matter management. Animal Feed Science and Technology 166–167, 503513.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petersen, SO, Lind, AM, Sommer, SG 1998. Nitrogen and organic matter losses during storage of cattle and pig manure. The Journal of Agricultural Science 130, 6979.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips, FA, Leuning, R, Baigent, R, Kelly, KB, Denmead, OT 2007. Nitrous oxide flux measurements from an intensively managed irrigated pasture using micrometeorological techniques. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 143, 92105.Google Scholar
Reid, R, Thornton, P, McCrabb, G, Kruska, R, Atieno, F, Jones, P 2004. Is it possible to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in pastoral ecosystems of the tropics? Environment, Development and Sustainability 6, 91109.Google Scholar
Rochette, P, Janzen, H 2005. Towards a revised coefficient for estimating N2O emissions from legumes. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 73, 171179.Google Scholar
Ryden, JC 1983. Denitrification loss from a grassland soil in the field receiving different rates of nitrogen as ammonium-nitrate. Journal of Soil Science, 34 355365.Google Scholar
Saggar, S, Giltrap, DL, Li, C, Tate, KR 2007a. Modelling nitrous oxide emissions from grazed grasslands in New Zealand. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 119, 205216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saggar, S, Hedley, CB, Giltrap, DL, Lambie, SM 2007b. Measured and modelled estimates of nitrous oxide emission and methane consumption from sheep-grazed pasture. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 122, 357362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schils, RLM, Verhagen, A, Aarts, HFM, Šebek, LBJ 2005. A farm level approach to define successful mitigation strategies for GHG emissions from ruminant livestock systems. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 71, 163175.Google Scholar
Schils, RLM, Olesen, JE, del Prado, A, Soussana, JF 2007. A review of farm level modelling approaches for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from ruminant livestock systems. Livestock Science 112, 240251.Google Scholar
Schils, RLM, van Groenigen, JW, Velthof, GL, Kuikman, PJ 2008. Nitrous oxide emissions from multiple combined applications of fertiliser and cattle slurry to grassland. Plant and Soil 310, 89101.Google Scholar
Schils, RLM, Verhagen, A, Aarts, HFM, Kuikman, PJ, Šebek, LBJ 2006a. Effect of improved nitrogen management on greenhouse gas emissions from intensive dairy systems in the Netherlands. Global Change Biology 12, 382391.Google Scholar
Schils, RLM, Oudendag, DA, Van der Hoek, KW, De Boer, JA, Evers, AG, De Haan, MHA 2006b. Climate Change Module BBPR (Broeikasgasmodule BBPR). Practical Report Cattle 90, Animal Sciences Group, Lelystad, the Netherlands, p. 50.Google Scholar
Singh, J, Bolan, NS, Saggar, S, Zaman, M 2008. The role of inhibitors in controlling the bioavailability and losses of nitrogen. In Chemical bioavailability in terrestrial environment (ed. R Naidu, NS Bolan, M Megharaj, A Juhasz, S Gupta, B Clothier and R Schulin), pp. 329362. Elsevier, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.Google Scholar
Smith, P, Olesen, JE 2010. Synergies between the mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change in agriculture. Journal of Agricultural Science 148, 543552.Google Scholar
Sommer, SG, Petersen, SO, Soegaard, HT 2000. Greenhouse gas emission from stored livestock slurry. Journal of Environmental Quality 29, 744751.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stehfest, E, Bouwman, L 2006. N2O and NO emission from agricultural fields and soils under natural vegetation: summarizing available measurement data and modeling of global annual emissions. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 74, 207228.Google Scholar
Stehfest, E, Bouwman, L, Van Vuuren, DP, Den Elzen, MGJ, Eickhout, B, Kabat, P 2009. Climate benefits of changing diet. Climatic Change 95, 83102.Google Scholar
Steinfeld, H, Gerber, P, Wassenaar, T, Castel, V, Rosales, M, de Haan, C 2006. Livestock's long shadow: environmental issues and options. Renewable Resources Journal 24, 1517.Google Scholar
Stevens, RJ, Laughlin, RJ 2001. Cattle slurry affects nitrous oxide and dinitrogen emissions from fertilizer nitrate. Soil Science Society of America Journal 65, 13071314.Google Scholar
Stevens, RJ, Laughlin, RJ 2002. Cattle slurry applied before fertilizer nitrate lowers nitrous oxide and dinitrogen emissions. Soil Science Society of America Journal 66, 647652.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Su, F, Takaya, N, Shoun, H 2004. Nitrous oxide-forming codenitrification catalyzed by cytochrome P450nor. Bioscience, Biotechnology and Biochemistry 68, 473475.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Subbarao, G, Ito, O, Sahrawat, K, Berry, W, Nakahara, K, Ishikawa, T, Watanabe, T, Suenaga, K, Rondon, M, Rao, I 2006. Scope and strategies for regulation of nitrification in agricultural systems – challenges and opportunities. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences 25, 303335.Google Scholar
Van der Weerden, TJ, Luo, J, De Klein, CAM, Hoogendoorn, CJ, Littlejohn, RP, Rys, GJ 2011. Disaggregating nitrous oxide emission factors for ruminant urine and dung deposited onto pastoral soils. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 141, 426436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Beek, CL, Meerburg, BG, Schils, RLM, Verhagen, J, Kuikman, PJ 2010a. Feeding the world's increasing population while limiting climate change impacts: linking N2O and CH4 emissions from agriculture to population growth. Environmental Science & Policy 13, 8996.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Beek, CL, Pleijter, M, Jacobs, C, Velthof, G, van Groenigen, J, Kuikman, PJ 2010b. Emissions of N2O from fertilized and grazed grassland on organic soil in relation to groundwater level. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 86, 331340.Google Scholar
Van Groenigen, JW, Velthof, GL, van der Bolt, FJE, Vos, A, Kuikman, PJ 2005. Seasonal variation in N2O emissions from urine patches: effects of urine concentration, soil compaction and dung. Plant and Soil 273, 1527.Google Scholar
Van Vuuren, AM, van der Koelen, CJ, Valk, H, de Visser, H 1993. Effects of partial replacement of ryegrass by low protein feeds on rumen fermentation and nitrogen loss by dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 76, 29822993.Google Scholar
Vellinga, TV, Hoving, IE 2010. Maize silage for dairy cows: mitigation of methane emissions can be offset by land use change. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 89 114.Google Scholar
Vellinga, TV, van den Pol-van Dasselaar, A, Kuikman, PJ 2004. The impact of grassland ploughing on CO2 and N2O emissions in the Netherlands. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 70, 3345.Google Scholar
Vellinga, TV, de Haan, MHA, Schils, RLM, Evers, A, van den Pol-van Dasselaar, A 2011. Implementation of GHG mitigation on intensive dairy farms: farmers’ preferences and variation in cost effectiveness. Livestock Science 137, 185195.Google Scholar
Velthof, GL, Mosquera, J 2011. The impact of slurry application technique on nitrous oxide emission from agricultural soils. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 140, 298308.Google Scholar
Velthof, GL, Kuikman, PJ, Oenema, O 2003. Nitrous oxide emission from animal manures applied to soil under controlled conditions. Biology and Fertility of Soils 37, 221230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Velthof, GL, Oenema, O, Postma, R, van Beusichem, ML 1996. Effects of type and amount of applied nitrogen fertilizer on nitrous oxide fluxes from intensively managed grassland. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 46, 257267.Google Scholar
Velthof, GL, Oudendag, D, Witzke, HR, Asman, WAH, Klimont, Z, Oenema, O 2009. Integrated assessment of nitrogen losses from agriculture in EU-27 using MITERRA-EUROPE. Journal of Environmental Quality 38, 402417.Google Scholar
Velthof, GL, Hoving, IE, Dolfing, J, Smit, A, Kuikman, PJ, Oenema, O 2010. Method and timing of grassland renovation affects herbage yield, nitrate leaching, and nitrous oxide emission in intensively managed grasslands. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 86, 401412.Google Scholar
Wang, J, Cardenas, LM, Misselbrook, TH, Gilhespy, S 2011. Development and application of a detailed inventory framework for estimating nitrous oxide and methane emissions from agriculture. Atmospheric Environment 45, 14541463.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wrage, N, Velthof, GL, van Beusichem, ML, Oenema, O 2001. Role of nitrifier denitrification in the production of nitrous oxide. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 33, 17231732.Google Scholar
Wulf, S, Maeting, M, Clemens, J 2002. Application technique and slurry co-fermentation effects on ammonia, nitrous oxide, and methane emissions after spreading: II. Greenhouse gas emissions. Journal of Environmental Quality 31, 17951801.Google Scholar
Zaman, M, Nguyen, ML, Blennerhassett, JD, Quin, BN 2008. Reducing NH3, N2O and NO3-N losses from a pasture soil with urease or nitrification inhibitors and elemental S-amended nitrogenous fertilizers. Biology and Fertility of Soils 44, 693705.Google Scholar