IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agisys/v159y2018icp42-49.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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

Author

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

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Sabia, Emilio & Napolitano, Fabio & Claps, Salvatore & De Rosa, Giuseppe & Barile, Vittoria Lucia & Braghieri, Ada & Pacelli, Corrado, 2018. "Environmental impact of dairy buffalo heifers kept on pasture or in confinement," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 42-49.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agisys:v:159:y:2018:i:c:p:42-49
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2017.10.010
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308521X16307855
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agsy.2017.10.010?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thomassen, M.A. & van Calker, K.J. & Smits, M.C.J. & Iepema, G.L. & de Boer, I.J.M., 2008. "Life cycle assessment of conventional and organic milk production in the Netherlands," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 96(1-3), pages 95-107, March.
    2. O’Brien, Donal & Shalloo, Laurence & Patton, Joe & Buckley, Frank & Grainger, Chris & Wallace, Michael, 2012. "A life cycle assessment of seasonal grass-based and confinement dairy farms," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 33-46.
    3. Nazzareno Diodato & Massimo Fagnano & Ines Alberico & Giovanni Chirico, 2011. "Mapping soil erodibility from composed data set in Sele River Basin, Italy," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 58(1), pages 445-457, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Emilio Sabia & Sarah Kühl & Laura Flach & Christian Lambertz & Matthias Gauly, 2020. "Effect of Feed Concentrate Intake on the Environmental Impact of Dairy Cows in an Alpine Mountain Region Including Soil Carbon Sequestration and Effect on Biodiversity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-14, March.
    2. Oliveira, M. & Zucaro, A. & Santagata, R. & Ulgiati, S., 2022. "Environmental assessment of milk production from local to regional scales," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 463(C).
    3. Oliveira, Mariana & Cocozza, Annalisa & Zucaro, Amalia & Santagata, Remo & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2021. "Circular economy in the agro-industry: Integrated environmental assessment of dairy products," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    4. Elio Romano & Pasquale De Palo & Flavio Tidona & Aristide Maggiolino & Andrea Bragaglio, 2021. "Dairy Buffalo Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Affected by a Management Choice: The Production of Wheat Crop," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-20, October.
    5. Andrea Bragaglio & Ada Braghieri & Corrado Pacelli & Fabio Napolitano, 2020. "Environmental Impacts of Beef as Corrected for the Provision of Ecosystem Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-15, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hafiz Muhammad Abrar Ilyas & Majeed Safa & Alison Bailey & Sara Rauf & Marvin Pangborn, 2019. "The Carbon Footprint of Energy Consumption in Pastoral and Barn Dairy Farming Systems: A Case Study from Canterbury, New Zealand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-15, September.
    2. Van Middelaar, C.E. & Berentsen, P.B.M. & Dijkstra, J. & De Boer, I.J.M., 2013. "Evaluation of a feeding strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farming: The level of analysis matters," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 9-22.
    3. Meul, Marijke & Van Middelaar, Corina E. & de Boer, Imke J.M. & Van Passel, Steven & Fremaut, Dirk & Haesaert, Geert, 2014. "Potential of life cycle assessment to support environmental decision making at commercial dairy farms," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 105-115.
    4. Philip Shine & John Upton & Paria Sefeedpari & Michael D. Murphy, 2020. "Energy Consumption on Dairy Farms: A Review of Monitoring, Prediction Modelling, and Analyses," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-25, March.
    5. Pagani, Marco & Vittuari, Matteo & Johnson, Thomas G. & De Menna, Fabio, 2016. "An assessment of the energy footprint of dairy farms in Missouri and Emilia-Romagna," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 116-126.
    6. Jongeneel, Roel & Polman, Nico & van der Ham, Corinda, 2014. "Costs and benefits associated with the externalities generated by Dutch agriculture," 2014 International Congress, August 26-29, 2014, Ljubljana, Slovenia 182705, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    7. Tuomisto, H.L. & Hodge, I.D. & Riordan, P. & Macdonald, D.W., 2012. "Comparing energy balances, greenhouse gas balances and biodiversity impacts of contrasting farming systems with alternative land uses," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 42-49.
    8. Ledgard, Stewart F. & Wei, Sha & Wang, Xiaoqin & Falconer, Shelley & Zhang, Nannan & Zhang, Xiying & Ma, Lin, 2019. "Nitrogen and carbon footprints of dairy farm systems in China and New Zealand, as influenced by productivity, feed sources and mitigations," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 155-163.
    9. Thomassen, M.A. & Dolman, M.A. & van Calker, K.J. & de Boer, I.J.M., 2009. "Relating life cycle assessment indicators to gross value added for Dutch dairy farms," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(8-9), pages 2278-2284, June.
    10. Mack, Gabriele & Kohler, Andreas, 2017. "Short- and long-run policy evaluation: support for grassland-based milk production in Switzerland," 2017 International Congress, August 28-September 1, 2017, Parma, Italy 261116, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    11. Tiago G. Morais & Ricardo F. M. Teixeira & Nuno R. Rodrigues & Tiago Domingos, 2018. "Carbon Footprint of Milk from Pasture-Based Dairy Farms in Azores, Portugal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-22, October.
    12. Jennifer S. Ford & Nathan L. Pelletier & Friederike Ziegler & Astrid J. Scholz & Peter H. Tyedmers & Ulf Sonesson & Sarah A. Kruse & Howard Silverman, 2012. "Proposed Local Ecological Impact Categories and Indicators for Life Cycle Assessment of Aquaculture," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 16(2), pages 254-265, April.
    13. Giuseppe Todde & Lelia Murgia & Maria Caria & Antonio Pazzona, 2018. "A Comprehensive Energy Analysis and Related Carbon Footprint of Dairy Farms, Part 2: Investigation and Modeling of Indirect Energy Requirements," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-13, February.
    14. Aimee N. Hafla & Jennifer W. MacAdam & Kathy J. Soder, 2013. "Sustainability of US Organic Beef and Dairy Production Systems: Soil, Plant and Cattle Interactions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(7), pages 1-26, July.
    15. Harrison, B.P. & Dorigo, M. & Reynolds, C.K. & Sinclair, L.A. & Dijkstra, J. & Ray, P.P., 2021. "Determinants of phosphorus balance and use efficiency in diverse dairy farming systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    16. Koesling, Matthias & Hansen, Sissel & Bleken, Marina Azzaroli, 2017. "Variations in nitrogen utilisation on conventional and organic dairy farms in Norway," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 11-21.
    17. Oudshoorn, Frank W. & Sørensen, Claus Aage G. & de Boer, Imke I.J.M., 2011. "Economic and environmental evaluation of three goal-vision based scenarios for organic dairy farming in Denmark," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 104(4), pages 315-325, April.
    18. Anna Kuczuk & Janusz Pospolita, 2020. "Sustainable Agriculture – Energy and Emergy Aspects of Agricultural Production," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(4), pages 1000-1018.
    19. Lambotte, Mathieu & De Cara, Stéphane & Brocas, Catherine & Bellassen, Valentin, 2021. "Carbon footprint and economic performance of dairy farms: The case of protected designation of origin farms in France," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    20. Mohammad Sharifi & Shamsi Soodmand-Moghaddam & Hesam Moloudi, 2024. "Investigation of environmental, energy and economic indicators of the turkey breeding farms: a case study in West Azarbaijan and Zanjan, Iran," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(9), pages 24221-24245, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agisys:v:159:y:2018:i:c:p:42-49. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agsy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.