RESUMO
Intensive dairy farming, particularly enteric fermentation and manure management, is a major contributor to negative impacts on the local and global environment. A wide range of abatement measures has been proposed to reduce livestock-related emissions, yet the individual and combined effects of these innovations are often unknown. In this study, we performed an attributional life cycle assessment of three innovative measures modeled in two synthetic German dairy farm systems: Feeding of the seaweed Asparagopsis, installing an in-house cow toilet system, and performing on-field slurry acidification. These measures were modeled both individually and in combination to account for single and cumulative effects and compared to a reference scenario under current practices. Our results showed that feeding high levels of Asparagopsis and the combination of all three measures were most effective at reducing global warming potential (20-30 %), while only the latter mitigated eutrophication (6-9%) and acidification potential (14-17 %). The cow toilet required additional adapted manure management (separated storage and injection of urine) to effectively reduce eutrophication (8-10 %) and acidification potential (19-23 %) and to decrease global warming potential (3-4%) and abiotic depletion (4-5%). Slurry acidification slightly affected all considered environmental impact categories. All three measures involved trade-offs, either between LCA impact categories (global warming potential vs. abiotic depletion), the location of impacts (off- vs. on-farm), or the emission reduction in individual gases (ammonia vs. nitrous oxide). Measure combinations could compensate for the observed trade-offs. Our study highlights the potential of novel abatement measures but also shows the interdependencies of measures in different stages. This calls for a revisiting of current priorities in funding and legislation, which often focus on single objectives and measures (e.g. ammonia reduction) toward the preferential use of measures that are effective without driving trade-offs or improving resource efficiency.
RESUMO
Three million sheep raised on 10 000 active farms operating in traditional and innovative farming systems in Sardinia, Italy, account for 13% of sheep milk production in the European Union (EU). Almost all of the milk delivered is processed to sheep cheese and is destined for world trade. The Sardinian dairy sheep sector also emits approximately 1600 kt CO2 eq/year, approximately 60% of regional livestock greenhouse gas (GHG), prompting the need for regional mitigation plans. The SheepToShip LIFE project (EU-LIFE Climate Change Action 2014-2020) is a regional case study to test emission mitigation strategies. Based on the SheepToShip LIFE findings, this paper presents a systems perspective against the backdrop of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework, with the aim of underlining system interlinkages between environmental, societal, and economic objectives. The project included (i) a life cycle thinking approach featuring environmental and socioeconomic traits of 18 sheep farms, (ii) on-farm implementation and demonstration of eco-innovative mitigation techniques indicating the most viable actions to reduce impact, (iii) focus groups discussing beliefs and reactions of the main stakeholders, and (iv) group model building producing a causal loop diagram from a systems thinking approach and exploring insights for regional policy-making that aligns with the SDGs. Causal links connect public interventions and stakeholder interaction (SDG 17) to boost farm eco-innovations (SDGs 9 and 8) and education and farmer training (SDG 4), and they foster efficient production (SDG 12) and high-quality food provisioning (SDG 2). These benefits contribute to climate change mitigation (SDG 13), water quality (SDG 6), and farm ecosystem services (SDG 15). Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:1187-1198. © 2022 SETAC.