Measurement of greenhouse gas emissions from a dairy cattle barn in Korea.

Abstract

Korea is currently developing country-specific emission factors to support the 2050 zero-carbon campaign. Dairy cattle represent one of the largest livestock industries in Korea, and the industry is estimated to continue increasing because of an increase in milk demand. However, country-specific emission factors for dairy cattle are currently only available for calculating methane (CH₄) emissions from enteric fermentation. Two experiments were conducted to evaluate CH₄ and nitrous oxide (N₂O) fluxes from sawdust-bedded barn in dairy cow and steer, as well as dairy cattle manure composting lots. The greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes were quantified using the open-chamber method and gas chromatography. CH₄ fluxes from steer, dairy cow, and manure compost were 27.88 ± 5.84, 36.12 ± 10.85, and 259.44 ± 61.78 µg/head/s, respectively. N₂O fluxes from steer, dairy cow, and manure compost were 14.04 ± 1.27, 4.11 ± 1.57, and 3.97 ± 1.08 µg/head/s, respectively. The result of this study can be used to construct country-specific data for GHG emissions from manure management. Thus, the application of mitigation strategies can be prioritized based on the GHG profile and targeted source.