Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Impact of Grazing Intensity and Seasons on Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Tropical Grassland

  • Published:
Ecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

ABSTRACT

Greenhouse gases (GHG) can be affected by grazing intensity, soil, and climate variables. This study aimed at assessing GHG emissions from a tropical pasture of Brazil to evaluate (i) how the grazing intensity affects the magnitude of GHG emissions; (ii) how season influences GHG production and consumption; and (iii) what are the key driving variables associated with GHG emissions. We measured under field conditions, during two years in a palisade-grass pasture managed with 3 grazing intensities: heavy (15 cm height), moderate (25 cm height), and light (35 cm height) N2O, CH4 and CO2 fluxes using static closed chambers and chromatographic quantification. The greater emissions occurred in the summer and the lower in the winter. N2O, CH4, and CO2 fluxes varied according to the season and were correlated with pasture grazing intensity, temperature, precipitation, % WFPS (water-filled pores space), and soil inorganic N. The explanatory variables differ according to the gas and season. Grazing intensity had a negative linear effect on annual cumulative N2O emissions and a positive linear effect on annual cumulative CO2 emissions. Grazing intensity, season, and year affected N2O, CH4, and CO2 emissions. Tropical grassland can be a large sink of N2O and CH4. GHG emissions were explained for different key driving variables according to the season.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allen AG, Jarvis SC, Headon DM. 1996. Nitrous oxide emissions from soils due to inputs of nitrogen from excreta return by livestock on grazed grassland in the UK. Soil Biol Biochem 28:597–607.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Alves BJR, Smith KA, Flores RA, Cardoso AS, Oliveira WRD, Jantalia CP, Urquiaga S, Boddey RM. 2012. Selection of the most suitable sampling time for static chambers for the estimation of daily mean N2O flux from soils. Soil Biol Biochem 46:129–35.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Apolinário VX, Dubeux JC, Mello AC, Vendramini J, Lira MA, Santos MV, Muir JP. 2014. Litter decomposition of signalgrass grazed with stocking rates and nitrogen fertilizer levels. Agron J 106:622–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barbero RP, Malheiros EB, Araujo TLR, Nave RLG, Mulliniks JT, Berchielli TT, Ruggieri AC, Reis RA. 2015. Combining Marandu grass grazing height and supplementation level to optimize growth and productivity of yearling bull. Anim Feed Sci Technol 209:110–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blicher-Mathiesen G, Hoffmann CC. 1999. Denitrification as a sink for dissolved nitrous oxide in a freshwater riparian fen. J Environ Qual 28:257–62.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Boddey RM, Macedo R, Tarré RM, Ferreira E, de Oliveira OC, Rezende CP, Cantarutti RB, Pereira JM, Alves BJR, Urquiaga S. 2004. Nitrogen cycling in Brachiaria pastures: The key to understanding the process of pasture decline. Agric Ecosyst Environ 103:389–403.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bremer DJ, Ham JM, Owensby CE, Knapp AK. 1998. Responses of soil respiration to clipping and grazing in a tallgrass prairie. J Environ Qual 27:1539–48.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brito LF, Azenha MV, Janusckiewicz ER, Cardoso AS, Morgado ES, Malheiro EB, La Scala Jr N, Reis RA, Ruggieri AC. 2015. Agron J 107(957):962.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cao GM, Tang YH, Mo WH, Wang YA, Li YN, Zhao XQ. 2004. Grazing intensity alters soil respiration in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan plateau. Soil Biol Biochem 36:237–43.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cardoso AS, Alves BJR, Urquiaga S, Boddey RM. 2016. Effect of volume of urine and mas of feces on N2O and CH4 emissions of dairy cow excreta in a tropical pasture. Anim Product Sci. doi:10.1071/AN15392.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chamberlain SD, Boughton EH, Sparks JP. 2015. Underlying ecosystem emissions exceed cattle-emitted methane from subtropical lowland pastures. Ecosystems 18:933–45.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carter MS, Larsen KS, Emmett B, Estiarte M, Field C, Leith ID, Lund M, Meijide A, Mills RTE, Niinemets Ü, Peñuelas J, Portillo-Estrada M, Schmidt IK, Selsted MB, Sheppard LJ, Sowerby A, Tietema A, Beier C. 2012. Synthesizing greenhouse gas fluxes across nine European peatlands and shrublands—responses to climatic and environmental changes. Biogeosciences 9:3739–55.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen WW, Wolf B, Zheng XH, Yao ZS, Butterbach-Bahl K, Bruggemann N, Liu CY, Han SH, Han XG. 2011. Annual methane uptake by temperate semiarid steppes as regulated by stocking rates, aboveground plant biomass and topsoil air permeability. Glob Change Biol 17:2803–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiavegato MB, Powers WJ, Carmichael D, Rowntree JE. 2015. Pasture-derived greenhouse gas emissions in cow-calf production systems. J Anim Sci 93(1350):54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chapuis-Lardy L, Wrage N, Metay A, Chotte JL, Bernoux M. 2007. Soils, a sink for N2O? A review. Glob Change Biol 13:1–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Pinho Costa KA, Rosa B, de Oliveira IP, Custódio DP, Carla D. 2006. Efeito da estacionalidade na produção de matéria seca e composição bromatológica da Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu. Ciência Animal Brasileira 6:187–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dengel S, Levy PE, Grace J, Jones SK, Skiba UM. 2011. Methane emissions from sheep pasture, measured with an open-path eddy covariance system. Glob Change Biol 17:3524–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dobbie KE, McTaggart IP, Smith KA. 1999. Nitrous oxide emission from intensive agricultural systems: variations between crops and seasons, key driving variables, and mean emission factors. J Geophys Resour 104:26891–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Euclides VPB, Montagner DB, Barbosa RA, Nantes NN. 2014. Pasture and grazing management of Brachiaria brizantha (Hochst) Stapf and Panicum maximum Jacq. Revista Ceres 61:808–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FCAV. 2014. Resenha meteorológica do período 1971-2010. Average meteorological data from agrometeorological station of Faculdade de Ciência Agrária de Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil. Avaliable in: http://www.fcav.unesp.br/#!/estacao-agroclimatologica/resenha/periodo-1971-2010/

  • Gong YM, Mohammat A, Liu XJ, Li KH, Christie P, Fang F, Song W, Chang YH, Han WX, Lü XT, Liu YY, Hu YK. 2014. Response of carbon dioxide emissions to sheep grazing and N application in an alpine grassland—Part 1: Effect of sheep grazing. Biogeosciences 11:1743–50.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gusmao MR, Alves TC, Lemes AP, Bettiol GM, Pedroso ADF, Barioni Junior W, Oliveira PPA, Grego CR. 2015. Sodium fluorescein as an internal tracer on the location of bovine urine patches in pastures. Grass Forage Science 71:305–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haynes RJ, Williams PH. 1993. Nutrient cycling and soil fertility in the grazed pasture ecosystem. Adv Agron 49:119–99.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Holter P. 1997. Methane emissions from Danish cattle dung pats in the field. Soil Biol Biochem 29:31–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hu YG, Chang XF, Lin XW, Wang WF, Wang SP, Duan JC, Zhang ZH, Yang XX, Luo CY, Xu GP, Zhao XQ. 2010. Effects of warming and grazing on N2O fluxes in an alpine meadow ecosystem on the Tibetan plateau. Soil Biol Biochem 42:944–52.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • IUSS. 2006. World reference base for soil resources 2006. FAO, Rome, Italy: World Soil Resources Reports.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelly KB, Phillips FA, Baigent R. 2008. Impact of dicyandiamide application on nitrous oxide emissions from urine patches in northern Victoria, Australia. Aust J Exp Agric 48:156–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kempers AJ, Zweers A. 1986. Ammonium determination in soil extracts by the salicylate method. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 17:715–23.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Klumpp K, Bloor JMG, Ambus P, Soussana JF. 2011. Effects of clover density on N2O emissions and plant-soil N transfers in a fertilized upland pasture. Plant Soil 343:97–107.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Laporte MF, Duchesne LC, Wetzel S. 2002. Effect of rainfall patterns on soil surface CO2 efflux, soil moisture, soil temperature and plant growth in a grassland ecosystem of northern Ontario, Canada: implications for climate change. BMC Ecol 2:10.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Le Mer J, Roger P. 2001. Production, oxidation, emission and consumption of methane by soils: a review. Eur J Soil Biol 37:25–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lessa ACR, Madari BE, Paredes DS, Boddey RM, Urquiaga S, Jantalia CP, Alves BJR. 2014. Bovine urine and dung deposited on Brazilian savannah pastures contribute differently to direct and indirect soil nitrous oxide emissions. Agric Ecosyst Environ 103:190–4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liebig MA, Kronberg SL, Hendrickson JR, Dong X, Gross JR. 2013. Carbon dioxide efflux from long-term grazing management systems in a semiarid region. Agric Ecosyst Environ 164:137–44.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu K, Sollenberger LE, Silveira ML, Vendramini JMB, Newman YC. 2011. Grazing intensity and nitrogen fertilization affect litter responses in ‘Tifton 85’ bermudagrass pastures. II. Decomposition and nitrogen mineralization. Agron J 103:163–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu CY, Holst J, Bruggemann N, Butterbach-Bahl K, Yao ZS, Yue J, Han SH, Han X, Krummelbein J, Horn R, Zheng XH. 2007. Winter-grazing reduces methane uptake by soils of a typical semi-arid steppe in Inner Mongolia, China. Atmos Environ 41:5948–58.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Luo J, Lindsey SB, Ledgard SF. 2008. Nitrous oxide emissions from animal urine application on a New Zealand pasture. Biology Fertility Soils 44:464–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lopes AS. 1996. Soils under Cerrado: a success story in soil management. Better Crops Int 10:9–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miranda EM, Fonseca MF. 2013. Considerações fitogeográficas e históricas sobre o bioma cerrado no estado de São Paulo. Embrapa Grupo de Inteligência Territorial nota técnica 1:1–30. https://www.embrapa.br/gite/publicacoes/NT1_CERRADOS_2013.pdf

  • Mott GO, Lucas HL. 1952. The design, conduct and interpretation of grazing trials on cultivated and improved pastures. In: Proceedings of the Sixth International Grassland Congress, Pennsylvania, pp. 1380–1385.

  • Mazzetto AM, Barneze AS, Feigl BJ, Van Groenigen JW, Oenema O, Cerri CC. 2014. Temperature and moisture affect methane and nitrous oxide emission from bovine manure patches in tropical conditions. Soil Biol Biochem 76:242–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Miyazawa M, Pavan MA, Block MFM. 1985. Spectrophotometry determination of nitrate in soil extracts without chemical reduction. Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira 20:29–133.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mosier AR. 1989. Chamber and isotope techniques. In: Andreae MO, Schimel DS, Eds. Exchange of traces gases between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere: report of the dahlem workshop. Germany: Wiley. p 175–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olsen KK. 2008. Multiple wavelength ultraviolet determinations of nitrate concentration, method comparisons from the preakness brook monitoring project, October 2005 to October 2006. Water Air Soil Pollution 187:195–202.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team (2014). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. https://www.R-project.org/.

  • Rochette P, Chantigny MH, Ziadi N, Angers DA, Bélanger G, Charbonneau E, Pellerin D, Liang C, Berthand N. 2014. Soil Nitrous Oxide emissions after deposition of dairy cow excreta in Eastern Canada. J Environ Qual 43:829–41.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roslev P, King GM. 1994. Survival and recovery of methanotrophic bacteria starved under oxic and anoxic conditions. Appl Environ Microbiol 61:1563–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saggar S, Hedley CB, Giltrap DL, Lambie SM. 2007. Measured and modelled estimates of nitrous oxide emission and methane consumption from a sheep-grazed pasture. Agric Ecosyst Environ 122:357–65.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Saggar S, Bolan N, Bhandral R, Hedley M, Luo J. 2004. A review of emissions of methane, ammonia, and nitrous oxide from animal excreta deposition and farm effluent application in grazed pastures. N Z J Agric Res 47:513–44.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schlesinger WH. 2013. An estimate of the global sink for nitrous oxide in soils. Glob Change Biol 19:2329–931.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shariff AR, Biondini ME, Grygiel CE. 1994. Grazing intensity effects on litter decomposition and soil nitrogen mineralization. J Rangel Manag 47:444–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skiba U, Ball B. 2002. The effect of soil texture and soil drainage on emissions of nitric oxide and nitrous oxide. Soil Use Manag 18:56–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith KA, Ball T, Conen F, Dobbie KE, Massheder J, Rey A. 2003. Exchange of greenhouse gases between soil and atmosphere: interactions of soil physical factors and biological processes. Eur J Soil Sci 54:779–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sordi A, Dieckow J, Bayer C, Albuquerque MA, Piva JT, Zanatta JA, Tomazi M, da Rosa C, de Moraes A. 2013. Nitrous oxide emission factors for urine and dung patches in a subtropical Brazilian pastureland. Agric Ecosyst Environ 190:94–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sorrell BK, Boon PI. 1992. Biogeochemistry of billabong sediments. II. Seasonal variations in methane production. Freshw Biol 27:829–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steinfeld H, Gerber P, Wassenaar T, Castel V, Rosales M, Haan CD. 2006. Livestock’s long shadow: environmental issues and options. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

  • Thomas AD, Dougill AJ, Elliott DR, Mairs H. 2014. Seasonal differences in soil CO2 efflux and carbon storage in Ntwetwe Pan, Makgadikgadi Basin, Botswana. Geoderma 219–220:72–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas AD, Hoon SR. 2010. Simulated rainfall pulses and carbon dioxide fluxes from Kalahari Sands. J Arid Environ 74:131–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van der Weerden TJ, Luo J, Klein CAM, Hoogendoorn CJ, Littlejohn RP, Rys GJ. 2011. Disaggregating nitrous oxide emission factors for ruminant urine and dung deposited onto pastoral soils. Agric Ecosyst Environ 141:426–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Groenigen JW, Velthof GL, van der Bolt FJE, Vos A, Kuikman PJ. 2005. Seasonal variation in N2O emissions from urine patches: effect of urine concentration, soil compaction and dung. Plant Soil 273:15–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang ZW, Jiao SY, Han GD, Zhao M, Willms WD. 2009. Soil respiration response to different stocking rates on Stipa breviflora Griseb. Desert Steppe. J Inner Mongolia Univ 40:186–93.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wohlfahrt G, Hammerle A, Haslwanter A, Bahn M, Tappeiner U, Cernusca A. 2008. Seasonal and inter-annual variability of the net ecosystem CO2 exchange of a temperate mountain grassland: Effects of weather and management. J Geophys Res 113:D08110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu L, Baldocchi DD. 2004. Seasonal variation in carbon dioxide exchange over a Mediterranean annual grassland in California. Agric For Meteorol 123:79–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zaman M, Nguyen ML. 2012. How application timings of urease and nitrification inhibitors on N transformation, gaseous emissions of ammonia and nitrous oxide, pasture yield and N uptake in grazed pasture system. Soil Biol Biochem 41:1270–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang LH, Hou LY, Laanbroek HJ, Guo DF, Wang QB. 2015. Effects of Mowing Heights on N2O Emission from Temperate Grasslands in Inner Mongolia, Northern China. Am J Climate Change 4:397–407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou X, Wang J, Hao Y, Wang Y. 2010. Intermediate grazing intensities by sheep increase soil bacterial diversities in an Inner Mongolian steppe. Biol Fertil Soils 46:817–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu X, Luo C, Wang S, Zhang Z, Shujuar C, Bao X, Jiang L, Li Y, Li X, Wang Q, Zhou Y. 2015. Effects of warming, grazing/cutting and nitrogen fertilization on greenhouse gas fluxes during growing season in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau. Agric For Meteorol 214–215:506–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zou J, Huang Y, Sun W, Zheng X, Wang Y. 2005. Contribution of plants to N2O emissions in soil-winter wheat ecosystem: pot and field experiments. Plant Soil 269:205–11.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work is funded by the “São Paulo Research Foundation” (Fapesp grants # 2011/00060-8, # 2012/06718-8, # 2012/14956-6, # 2012/04605-1). The authors ASC, ESM, and RPB thank FAPESP for their scholarships. The authors ACR, LFB, ERJ, and RAA be grateful the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico Tecnológico (CNPq) and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for the scholarships. The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions to improve the quality of this paper and to Publicase, for the assistance with proofreading the article.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Zootecnia, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, UNESP – Univ Estadual Paulista, 14884-900, Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil

    Abmael da Silva Cardoso, Liziane de Figueiredo Brito, Estella Rosseto Janusckiewicz, Rondineli Pavezzi Barbero, Jefferson Fabiano Werner Koscheck, Ricardo Andrade Reis & Ana Cláudia Ruggieri

  2. Uberlandia Federal University, Rua João Naves de Ávila 2121, Santa Mônica, 38408-100, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil

    Eliane da Silva Morgado

  3. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho Via de Acesso Prof Paulo Donato Castellane UNESP, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, 01049-010, Brazil

    Abmael da Silva Cardoso

Authors
  1. Abmael da Silva Cardoso
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Liziane de Figueiredo Brito
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Estella Rosseto Janusckiewicz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Eliane da Silva Morgado
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Rondineli Pavezzi Barbero
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Jefferson Fabiano Werner Koscheck
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Ricardo Andrade Reis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Ana Cláudia Ruggieri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Abmael da Silva Cardoso.

Additional information

Author contributions

The authors LFB, RAR and ACR conceived and designed the study; ASC, LFB, ERJ, ESM, RPB and JFWK performed research; ASC analysed the data and, ASC, LFB, ERJ and ACR wrote the paper.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cardoso, A.d., Brito, L.d., Janusckiewicz, E.R. et al. Impact of Grazing Intensity and Seasons on Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Tropical Grassland. Ecosystems 20, 845–859 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-016-0065-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-016-0065-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation