Sustainable strategies for greenhouse gas emission reduction in small ruminants farming

Giamouri, E., Zisis, F., Mitsiopoulou, C., Christodoulou, C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9465-3886, Pappas, A. C., Simitzis, P. E., Kamilaris, C., Galliou, F., Manios, T., Mavrommatis, A. and Tsiplakou, E. (2023) Sustainable strategies for greenhouse gas emission reduction in small ruminants farming. Sustainability, 15 (5). 4118. ISSN 2071-1050 doi: 10.3390/su15054118

Abstract/Summary

During the previous decades, the growing demand for animal origin products has gained considerable attention. As a result, livestock breeding has faced a rapid intensification in order to fulfil market expectations. This increase in livestock production has led to a large scale of manure that is associated with many environmental impacts, such as climate change, to an increase of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. Livestock production is considered to generate significant amounts of GHG, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Methane and nitrous oxide are the main emissions from livestock systems. Ruminants contribute highly to total livestock emissions. In the present study, the contribution of livestock and especially of the small ruminants in GHG emissions is reviewed. Additionally, useful sustainable strategies for farming and feeding of small ruminants are highlighted. Some of the practices discussed include but are not limited to efficient manure management, the replacement of mineral fertilizers by farm manure, the improvement of feed efficiency and provision of feed supplements. Moreover, the use of food waste or agro-industrial by-products is discussed as a sustainable strategy.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/125068
Identification Number/DOI	10.3390/su15054118
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Agriculture, Policy and Development > Department of Animal Sciences
Publisher	MPDI
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