Pradeep Kumar Malik

Introduction to Concepts of Climate Change Impact on Livestock and Its Adaptation and Mitigation

This chapter provides an overview of the impact of climate change on livestock production and its adaptation and mitigation. Animal agriculture is the major contributor to increasing methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations in Earth’s atmosphere. Generally there are two-way impacts of livestock on climate change. The first part is the livestock contribution to climate change, while the second part is concerned with livestock getting affected by climate change. Hence, improving livestock production under changing climate scenario must target both reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from livestock and reducing the effect of climate change on livestock production. These efforts will optimize livestock production under the changing climate scenario. The role of livestock on climate change is primarily due to enteric CH4 emission and those from manure management. Various GHG mitigation strategies include manipulation of rumen microbial ecosystem, plant secondary metabolites, ration balancing, alternate hydrogen sinks, manure management, and modeling to curtail GHG emission. Adapting to climate change and reducing GHG emissions may require significant changes in production technology and farming systems that could affect productivity. Many viable opportunities exist for reducing CH4 emissions from enteric fermentation in ruminant animals and from livestock manure management facilities. To be considered viable, these emission reduction strategies must be consistent with the continued economic viability of the producer and must accommodate cultural factors that affect livestock ownership and management. The direct impacts of climate change on livestock are on its growth, milk production, reproduction, metabolic activity, and disease occurrences. The indirect impacts of climate change on livestock are in reducing water and pasture availability and other feed resources. Amelioration of environmental stress impact on livestock requires multidisciplinary approaches which emphasize animal nutrition, housing, and animal health. It is important to understand the livestock responses to the environment and analyze them, in order to design modifications of nutritional and environmental management, thereby improving animal comfort and performance.

Sheep Production Adapting to Climate Change

This book presents a compilation of the latest findings from reputed researchers around the globe, covering in detail climate change and its effects on sheep production. In the current global climate change scenario, information related to its impact on livestock agriculture is lacking. The negative impacts of climate change are already being felt by all livestock species. Further, the mitigation and amelioration strategies that are applicable for one species may not hold true for another. As such, concerted research efforts are needed to identify species-specific strategies for mitigation and adaptation. With that goal in mind, this book is the first of its kind to gather comprehensive information pertaining to the impact of climate change on various aspects of sheep production. It also sheds light on the role of sheep with regard to the global greenhouse gas pool. The book highlights the status quo of sheep production from climate change perspectives and projects the significance of adapting future sheep production to the challenges posed by climate change. It addresses in detail the various adaptations, methane mitigation and amelioration strategies needed to sustain sheep production in the future. In addition, the book presents development plans and policies that will allow the sheep industry to cope with current climate changes and strategies that will lessen future impacts. Bringing together essential information prepared by world-class researchers hailing from different agro-ecological zones, this book offers a unique resource for all researchers, teachers and students associated with sustaining the sheep production in the face of global change.

Methane mitigation potential of phyto-sources from Northeast India and their effect on rumen fermentation characteristics and protozoa in vitro

Aim: The aim of the study was to explore the anti-methanogenic potential of phyto-sources from Northeast region of the country and assess the effect on rumen fermentation characteristics and protozoa for their likely inclusion in animal diet to reduce methane emission. Materials and Methods: Twenty phyto-sources were collected from Northeast state, Assam, during March to April 2014. Phyto-sources were analyzed for their tannin content followed by screening for methane mitigation potential using in vitro system. The effect of tannin on methane production and other fermentation parameters was confirmed by attenuating the effect of tannin with polyethylene glycol (PEG)-6000 addition. About 200 mg dried phyto-source samples were incubated for 24 h in vitro, and volume of gas produced was recorded. The gas sample was analyzed on gas chromatograph for the proportion of methane in the sample. The effect of phyto-sources on rumen fermentation characteristics and protozoal population was determined using standard methodologies. Results: Results from studies demonstrated that Litchi chinensis, Melastoma malabathricum, Lagerstroemia speciosa, Terminalia chebula, and Syzygium cumini produced comparatively less methane, while Christella parasitica, Leucas linifolia, Citrus grandis, and Aquilaria malaccensis produced relatively more methane during in vitro incubation. An increase (p<0.05) in gas and methane production from the phyto-sources was observed when incubated with PEG-6000. Entodinimorphs were prominent ciliates irrespective of the phyto-sources, while holotrichs represented only small fraction of protozoa. An increase (p<0.05) in total protozoa, entodinimorphs, and holotrichs was noted when PEG-6000 added to the basal substrate. Our study confirmed variable impact of phyto-sources on total volatile fatty acid production and ammonia-N. Conclusion: It may be concluded that L. chinensis, M. malabathricum, L. speciosa, S. cumini, and T. chebula are having potent methane suppressing properties as observed in vitro in 24 h. These leaves could be supplemented in the animal diet for reducing methane emission; however, in vivo trials are warranted to confirm the methane inhibitory action and optimize the level of supplementation.

Enteric Methane Emission Under Different Feeding Systems

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) which is responsible for global warming, and it is about 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide and is produced worldwide by biotic and anthropogenic activity. Increased industrialisation in the past few decades and an increase in global human population have increased the demand of food particularly of animal origin to a significant level. The livestock population, especially ruminants in particular, is responsible for emitting 16–20 % of the CH4 to the atmosphere. The enteric fermentation in ruminants is unique, carried out by the anaerobic microorganism, and culminates in the formation of CH4, which is the sink for hydrogen and carbon dioxide, formed as a result of anaerobic fermentation in the rumen. The population of domesticated ruminant livestock species like cattle, buffalos, sheep, goat, mithun, yak, etc., which provide food to humans has increased worldwide in the recent past. These livestock are reared under different systems that are prevailing in a particular country, and the most common identified livestock rearing systems are intensive, extensive and semi-intensive. In intensive system of rearing, the animals are confined and more concentrates are fed with provision of quality roughages. While in the extensive system of rearing, the livestock are let loose and depend on the pasture for their growth and production, and the quality of the pasture is responsible for the nutrients assimilated by the animal. The semi-intensive system of rearing is a combination of the above two systems. Enteric CH4 production in ruminants depends on several factors like type and quality of feed, the physical and chemical characteristics of the feed, species of livestock, feeding level and schedule, the efficiency of feed conversion to livestock products, the use of feed additives to support production efficiency, the activity and health of the animal and genetic make-up of the animal. Therefore, feeding system(s) employed for livestock rearing certainly has an effect on the enteric CH4 production. A concerted effort has been put in this chapter to get an insight into the different livestock rearing and feeding systems, CH4 contribution from livestock and global warming, CH4 production from different feeding systems and means to augment livestock production by reducing enteric CH4 under different feeding regimens.

Evaluation of in vitro ruminal fermentation of ensiled fruit byproducts and their potential for feed use (resubmission)

Objective Ensiling of tannin-rich fruit byproducts (FB) involves quantitative and qualitative changes in the tannins, which would consequently change the rumen fermentation characteristics. This study aimed to evaluate whether ensiled FBs are effective in mitigating methane emission from ruminants by conducting in vitro assessments. Methods Fruit byproducts (grape pomace, wild grape pomace, and persimmon skin) were collected and subjected to four-week ensiling by Lactobacillus buchneri inoculant. A defined feed component with or without FB samples (both fresh and ensiled material) were subjected to in vitro anaerobic culturing using rumen fluid sampled from beef cattle, and the fermentation parameters and microbial populations were monitored. Results Reduced methane production and a proportional change in total volatile fatty acids (especially enhanced propionate proportion) was noted in bottles containing the FBs compared with that in the control (without FB). In addition, we found lower gene copy number of archaeal 16S rRNA and considerably higher levels of one of the major fibrolytic bacteria (Fibrobacter succinogenes) in the bottles containing FBs than in the control, particularly, when it was included in a forage-based feed. However, in the following cultivation experiment, we observed that FBs failed to exhibit a significant difference in methane production with or without polyethylene glycol, implying that tannins in the FBs may not be responsible for the mitigation of methane generation. Conclusion The results of the in vitro cultivation experiments indicated that not only the composition but also ensiling of FBs affected rumen fermentation patterns and the degree of methane generation. This is primarily because of the compositional changes in the fibrous fraction during ensiling as well as the presence of readily fermented substrates, whereas tannins in these FBs seemed to have little effect on the ruminal fermentation kinetics.

Adapting sheep production to changing climate: Conclusions and researchable priorities

This chapter summarizes the salient findings of various researchers in their field of specialization pertaining to climate change and sheep production. It also highlights the future perspectives that are essential to sustain sheep production in the changing climate scenario, and presents an insight into the impacts of climate change on various aspects of sheep production. It summarizes the salient findings pertaining to climate change impacts on adaptive capacity, immune response, and disease occurrences in sheep. The chapter synthesizes the knowledge about the contribution of sheep to climate change and the various mechanisms through which it adapts to the devastating effects of climate change. In addition, an attempt is made to summarize the different adaptation strategies to sustain sheep production in the changing climate scenario, and recapitulate the different amelioration strategies such as management strategies, nutritional intervention, and body condition scoring (BCS) application employed to improve sheep production during exposure to the hot tropical environment. The chapter also states the importance of refining the existing thermal indices to appropriately quantify the impact of heat stress on sheep. It proposes a new breeding strategy involving adaptation, production, and low methane (CH4) emission traits to ensure optimum production in sheep farms. Further, it also emphasizes that the existing agroadvisory services must be strengthened to allow sufficient reaction time for the farmers. Proposed advanced biotechnological tools include nutrigenomics, metagenomics, transcriptomics, and epigenetics to study in detail the cellular and molecular mechanisms of sheep adaptation in an attempt to identify important biological markers for heat stress. The importance of developing appropriate vaccine against CH4 producing microorganisms has been described. Finally, climate-smart sheep production is discussed, which involves breeding only the productive animals; improving diets; better flock, manure, health, water, and grassland management; appropriate housing; and insurance for sheep farmers.

Methane Estimation Methodologies in Sheep

Methane arising from the enteric fermentation in ruminants is one of the major greenhouse gases (GHGs) and a key component as far as agricultural emission is concerned. Relative high global warming potential and biological energy loss from animal system makes methane (CH4) much more important than any other GHG. Researchers worldwide have attempted many approaches with variable success for enteric methane mitigation and the search for advanced sustainable approach is still on. However, attempting mitigation without knowing the precise emission from a country is not going to serve any purpose. Most of the countries, especially developing nations, are still lacking a valid database for enteric methane emission. In order to arrive at a national methane emission figure, a country should have proper methodologies for estimating the methane emission from different ruminant species fed on various dietary combinations as per local and seasonal availability. As sheep are being maintained by small and marginal farmers, therefore, the loss of biological energy in the form of CH4 under the resource-deficit scenario of farmers make this species as equally important as cattle and buffaloes. This chapter describes various methodologies which can be employed for the direct or indirect estimation of CH4 emission from sheep. Each methodology has been discussed in the chapter at length along with their advantages and limitations. Though the adoption of a methodology for the estimation of CH4 depends on many factors, in vivo techniques such as GreenFeed, sulfur hexafluoride tracer technique and respiration chambers are instrumental in order to estimate the precise emission and could be useful in determining the national CH4 emission when a large number of experiments are conducted involving large animals and locally available seasonal feedstuffs with repeated measurements.

Mitigation Options for GHG Emissions from Ruminants

Livestock are one of the major contributors as well as sufferers of climate change. The adverse impact of climate change on livestock sector is now ubiquitary; however, its intensity is stratified. Livestock production among various agricultural sectors is considered one of the major fronts that is accountable for large greenhouse gas emission. The demand for livestock products is expected to accelerate that would essentially come from more livestock. The increasing livestock numbers would cost larger GHG emission. Livestock production and excrement storage contribute three major greenhouse gases, namely, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere. The contribution of CO2 in GHG emission from livestock is almost negligible due to its continuous cycling into the biological system. India alone contributes 10 Tg methane to the global pool every year that arises from the enteric fermentation. Major livestock species (cattle and buffalo) in the country is held accountable for 85–90% of the annual enteric methane emission. Countries such as India and China are expected to have maximum increase in enteric methane emission in the world during the next 20 years. Temperature, humidity and storage conditions are major deciding factors for the extent of emission from excrement. The GHG emission from manure management depends on the storage conditions. The anaerobic storage of the dung leads to its decomposition and subsequent CH4 production, whilst aerobic storage results into N2O emission. This chapter dealt with the GHG generated from livestock production including enteric fermentation and excrement management. Ameliorative and preventive measures are discussed in this chapter for reducing the emission of greenhouse gases that originates from livestock production.

Enteric Methane Emission and Reduction Strategies in Sheep

Climate change is associated with the anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) like carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) is widely evident throughout the world. CH4 is considered one of the major GHGs, 20 times more potent than CO2, contributing to 15–20% of total global GHG emission. Sheep and goat produce enteric CH4 through the microbial degradation of feed. Globally, livestock sector produces approximately 80 Tg CH4 per year through enteric fermentation. Of the total CH4 production, 11 Tg is from Indian subcontinent, which corresponds to 14% of total global CH4 production. Indian goat and sheep breeds produce 10.1 and 11.6 g/head/d CH4 respectively. In the era of changing climate, it is very essential to have strategies that can reduce the CH4 emission and improve the animal production. Among the various CH4 mitigation strategies, dietary or nutritional interventions are most suitable and adoptable with no detrimental impacts on animal health. Other CH4 mitigation strategies like biotechnological intervention and feed additives may fail due to the diversity in rumen micro fauna. A global vision of production systems should be taken into consideration while implementing the strategies to reduce the impact of CH4 on global warming. All GHG emissions from the animal up to the farm scale as well as grassland use must be considered, and this is very essential to find a global solution.

Adapting Sheep Production to Climate Change

Apart from contributing to the climate change phenomenon, sheep production system is also sensitive to its adverse impacts. This poses a great challenge for developing sheep sector around the world. Currently the economic viability of the sheep production system worldwide is jeopardized due to the devastating effects of climate change. Among the multiple climatic stresses faced by sheep, heat stress seems to hugely destabilize production efficiency of the animals. Heat stress jeopardizes the growth, wool, meat and milk production in sheep. Further, climate change leads to several vector borne diseases to sheep by compromising the immune status of the animals. The animal employs several adaptive mechanisms to maintain homeostasis through behavioural, physiological, neuroendocrine, cellular and molecular responses to cope up to the existing climatic condition. Sheep also significantly contributes to climate change through enteric methane emission and manure management. Further, climate change can alter the rumen function and diet digestibility in sheep. Hence, enteric methane mitigation is of paramount importance to prevent both the climate change and dietary energy loss which may pave way for sustaining the economic return from these animals. Further, various other strategies are required to counter the detrimental effects of climate change on sheep production. The management strategies can be categorized as housing management, animal management and monitoring of climate, and these strategies are ultimately targeted to provide suitable microclimate for optimum sheep production. Nutritional interventions involving season-specific feeding and micronutrient supplementation may help the animal to sustain its production during adverse environmental conditions. Body condition scoring system developed specifically for sheep may help to optimize economic return in sheep farms by minimizing the input costs. Finally, sufficient emphasis must be given to develop appropriate adaptation strategies involving policymakers. These strategies include developing thermotolerant breeds using biomarkers, ensured water availability, women empowerment, early warning system and capacity building programmes for all the stakeholders. These efforts may help in augmenting sheep production in the climate change scenario.