Greenhouse gas emissions from enteric fermentation of livestock in Bolivia: values for 1990-2000 and future projections

Abstract

Gas emissions from enteric fermentation of the domestic livestock contribute to greenhouse gas inventories. Farming activities in Bolivia have nearly doubled methane emissions during the past decade. Methane was the second most important greenhouse gas emitted from human activities in Bolivia according the 1990–2000 GHG inventory. Emissions of methane from enteric fermentation of three regions of Bolivia, highland, valley and lowland, were studied. Atmospheric methane concentrations have increased by a factor of 1.1 to 1.3 in response to this increase and continue to rise. The projection of fermentation enteric gas emissions depends on the increase of the livestock, which was assumed for this study to be linear for 2001–2015 with an increment of 2.27%. In this overview, we examine past trends in the emission of methane due to the enteric fermentation and the sources and sinks that determine its growth rate.