Journal article

Effects of lignite application on ammonia and nitrous oxide emissions from cattle pens

J Sun, M Bai, J Shen, DWT Griffith, OT Denmead, J Hill, SK Lam, AR Mosier, D Chen

Science of the Total Environment | ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV | Published : 2016

Abstract

Beef cattle feedlots are a major source of ammonia (NH3) emissions from livestock industries. We investigated the effects of lignite surface applications on NH3 and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from beef cattle feedlot pens. Two rates of lignite, 3 and 6 kg m-2, were tested in the treatment pen. No lignite was applied in the control pen. Twenty-four Black Angus steers were fed identical commercial rations in each pen. We measured NH3 and N2O concentrations continuously from 4th Sep to 13th Nov 2014 using Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) NH3 analysers and a closed-path Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy analyser (CP-FTIR) in conjunction with the integrated horizontal flux method to calculate..

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Grants

Awarded by Meat and Livestock Australia


Funding Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Meat and Livestock Australia (B.FLT.0148) for financial support. We thank Mr. Ashley Gabler, Mr. Trevor Coates, Dr. Marcelo Benvenutti for technical support. The experiment was approved by the University of Melbourne Animal Ethics Committee under licence 1413211.1 and conducted in accordance with guidelines and regulations of this committee.