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Flaws in the current method for calculating methane emissions during dairy manure management in New Zealand

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Pratt, C., Shilton, A., Chung, M. L. and Guieysse, B. (2014) Flaws in the current method for calculating methane emissions during dairy manure management in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 57 (3). pp. 244-249. ISSN 0028-8233

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Article Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00288233.2014.911751

Abstract

New Zealand's Greenhouse Gas Inventory (the NZ Inventory) currently estimates methane (CH4) emissions from anaerobic dairy effluent ponds by: (1) determining the total pond volume across New Zealand; (2) dividing this volume by depth to obtain the total pond surface area; and (3) multiplying this area by an observational average CH4 flux. Unfortunately, a mathematically erroneous determination of pond volume has led to an imbalanced equation and a geometry error was made when scaling-up the observational CH4 flux. Furthermore, even if these errors are corrected, the nationwide estimate still hinges on field data from a study that used a debatable method to measure pond CH4 emissions at a single site, as well as a potentially inaccurate estimation of the amount of organic waste anaerobically treated. The development of a new methodology is therefore critically needed.

Item Type:Article
Business groups:Animal Science
Subjects:Animal culture > Cattle > Dairying
Agriculture > Agriculture (General) > Agriculture and the environment
Live Archive:21 Jan 2015 05:25
Last Modified:03 Sep 2021 16:50

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