Mitigation of ruminant methane production: current strategies, constraints and future options

Mitigating methane losses from cattle has economic as well as environmental benefits. The aim of this paper is to review the current approaches in relation to associated advantages and disadvantages and future options to reduce enteric methane emission from cattle. Current technologies can be broadly grouped into those that increase productivity of the animal (improved nutrition strategies) so that less methane is produced per unit of meat or milk, and those that directly modify the rumen fermentation so that less methane is produced in total. Data suggest that many of these practices are not appropriate for long term mitigation of methane emissions in ruminants because of their constraints. So it is necessity to develop long term strategies in suppressing methane production. An integrated research investigating animal, plant, microbe and nutrient level strategies would offer a long term solution of methane production. Genetic selection of animals, vaccination, probiotics, prebiotics and plant improvement are the most promising options of all the future approaches discussed. These approaches will reduce enteric methane production without any hazard to animal or environment.

[1]  C. Pomar,et al.  Evaluation of dietary strategies to reduce methane production in ruminants: A modelling approach , 2001 .

[2]  M. Kirchgessner,et al.  Nutritional factors for the quantification of methane production. , 1995 .

[3]  A. Wright,et al.  Reducing methane emissions in sheep by immunization against rumen methanogens. , 2004, Vaccine.

[4]  P. Yiou,et al.  Atmospheric methane during the last four glacial-interglacial cycles: Rapid changes and their link with Antarctic temperature , 2004 .

[5]  L. L. Slyter.  Monensin and Dichloroacetamide Influences on Methane and Volatile Fatty Acid Production by Rumen Bacteria In Vitro , 1979, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[6]  K. Beauchemin,et al.  Methane emissions from beef cattle: Effects of monensin, sunflower oil, enzymes, yeast, and fumaric acid. , 2004, Journal of animal science.

[7]  K. Beauchemin,et al.  Methane emissions from feedlot cattle fed barley or corn diets. , 2005, Journal of animal science.

[8]  T. Fenchel,et al.  Methanogens and other bacteria as symbionts of free-living anaerobic ciliates , 1993 .

[9]  J. Peterson,et al.  Antimethanogenic drugs and Heliotropium europaeum poisoning in penned sheep , 1978 .

[10]  D. Veira,et al.  The alleviation of chronic copper toxicity in sheep by ciliate protozoa , 1986, British Journal of Nutrition.

[11]  Y. Dong,et al.  Reducing Methane Emissions from Ruminant Animals , 1998 .

[12]  Michael Kreuzer,et al.  Comparative evaluation of the effects of coconut oil, oilseeds and crystalline fat on methane release, digestion and energy balance in lambs , 2000 .

[13]  Michael Kreuzer,et al.  Methane-suppressing effect of myristic acid in sheep as affected by dietary calcium and forage proportion , 2003, British Journal of Nutrition.

[14]  D. Etheridge,et al.  Atmospheric methane between 1000 A.D. and present: Evidence of anthropogenic emissions and climatic variability , 1998 .

[15]  Y. Dong,et al.  Lipid-induced depression of methane production and digestibility in the artificial rumen system (RUSITEC) , 1997 .

[16]  F. Mcintosh,et al.  Different strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae differ in their effects on ruminal bacterial numbers in vitro and in sheep. , 1995, Journal of animal science.

[17]  D. Demeyer,et al.  Control of rumen methanogenesis , 1996, Environmental monitoring and assessment.

[18]  R. D. Goodrich,et al.  Influence of monensin on the performance of cattle. , 1984, Journal of animal science.

[19]  F. Mcintosh,et al.  Influence of foliage from different accessions of the sub-tropical leguminous tree, Sesbania sesban, on ruminal protozoa in Ethiopian and Scottish sheep , 1999 .

[20]  F. Dohme,et al.  The role of the rumen ciliate protozoa for methane suppression caused by coconut oil , 1999 .

[21]  A. M. Vuuren,et al.  Role of probiotics in animal nutrition and their link to the demands of European consumers , 2003 .

[22]  J. B. Holter,et al.  Methane prediction in dry and lactating Holstein cows. , 1992, Journal of dairy science.

[23]  R. Hegarty.  Mechanisms for competitively reducing ruminal methanogenesis , 1999 .

[24]  B. Lamb,et al.  Measurement of methane emissions form ruminant livestock using an SF6 tracer technique , 1993 .

[25]  S. Kanda,et al.  Inhibition of ruminal microbial methane production by beta-cyclodextrin iodopropane, malate and their combination in vitro. , 2004, Journal of animal physiology and animal nutrition.

[26]  B. Lamb,et al.  Measurement of methane emissions from ruminant livestock using a sulfur hexafluoride tracer technique. , 1994, Environmental science & technology.

[27]  W. Hoover,et al.  Effects of a ruminal methane inhibitor on growth and energy metabolism in the ovine. , 1974, Journal of animal science.

[28]  D. Sauvant.  Methane production in sheep in relation to concentrate feed composition from bibliographic data. , 2000 .

[29]  D. Johnson,et al.  Methane emissions from cattle. , 1995, Journal of animal science.

[30]  M. Rasche,et al.  Targeting Methanopterin Biosynthesis To Inhibit Methanogenesis , 2003, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[31]  R. Gunsalus,et al.  ATP activation and properties of the methyl coenzyme M reductase system in Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum , 1978, Journal of bacteriology.

[32]  J. Mathers,et al.  Some effects of chloral hydrate on rumen fermentation and digestion in sheep , 1982, The Journal of Agricultural Science.

[33]  Jianxin Liu,et al.  Effect of tea saponin on rumen fermentation in vitro , 2005 .

[34]  M D Carro,et al.  Influence of different concentrations of disodium fumarate on methane production and fermentation of concentrate feeds by rumen micro-organisms in vitro , 2003, British Journal of Nutrition.

[35]  R. Wallace,et al.  Rumen fermentation and its manipulation: the development of yeast cultures as feed additives , 1993 .

[36]  P. French,et al.  Growth and rumen digestion characteristics of steers grazing autumn grass supplemented with concentrates based on different carbohydrate sources , 2001 .

[37]  B. Min,et al.  The effect of a condensed tannin-containing forage on methane emission by goats. , 2005, Journal of animal science.

[38]  J. Takahashi,et al.  Effects of including β1–4 galacto-oligosaccharides, lactic acid bacteria or yeast culture on methanogenesis as well as energy and nitrogen metabolism in sheep , 2004 .

[39]  T. Nishida,et al.  Effect of Fumaric Acid on Methane Production, Rumen Fermentation and Digestibility of Cattle Fed Roughage Alone , 2001 .

[40]  M. Kirchgessner,et al.  Effect of defaunation on the loss of energy in wethers fed different quantities of cellulose and normal or steamflaked maize starch , 1986 .

[41]  K. Wittenberg,et al.  Methane production by steers on pasture , 1997 .

[42]  D. K. Lovett,et al.  Effect of refined soy oil or whole soybeans on intake, methane output, and performance of young bulls. , 2006, Journal of animal science.

[43]  Elizabeth A. Scheehle and Dina Kruger.  Global Anthropogenic Methane and Nitrous Oxide Emissions , 2006 .

[44]  E. J. Dlugokencky,et al.  Continuing decline in the growth rate of the atmospheric methane burden , 1998, Nature.

[45]  F W Wainman,et al.  The metabolism of oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids by sheep with reference to their effects on methane production , 1966, British Journal of Nutrition.

[46]  D. K. Lovett,et al.  Manipulating enteric methane emissions and animal performance of late-lactation dairy cows through concentrate supplementation at pasture. , 2005, Journal of dairy science.

[47]  D. K. Lovett,et al.  Effect of refined coconut oil or copra meal on methane output and on intake and performance of beef heifers. , 2006, Journal of animal science.

[48]  G. Hill,et al.  Malate content of forage varieties commonly fed to cattle. , 1997, Journal of dairy science.

[49]  G. Bertin,et al.  In vitro H2 utilization by a ruminal acetogenic bacterium cultivated alone or in association with an archaea methanogen is stimulated by a probiotic strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae , 1995, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[50]  J. Goopy,et al.  Repeatability of methane production in cattle fed concentrate and forage diets , 2004 .

[51]  S. Lawrence,et al.  Studies into the effects of cadmium and low pH upon methane production , 1982, Hydrobiologia.

[52]  V. Fievez,et al.  Fish oils as potent rumen methane inhibitors and associated effects on rumen fermentation in vitro and in vivo , 2003 .

[53]  C. Henderson.  The effects of fatty acids on pure cultures of rumen bacteria , 1973, The Journal of Agricultural Science.

[54]  P. V. Soest.  Nutritional Ecology of the Ruminant , 1994 .

[55]  J. Archer,et al.  Genetic and phenotypic variance and covariance components for feed intake, feed efficiency, and other postweaning traits in Angus cattle. , 2001, Journal of animal science.

[56]  E. Richardson,et al.  Net feed conversion efficiency and its relationship with other traits in beef cattle , 1996 .

[57]  M. Kreuzer,et al.  Potential of various fatty feeds to reduce methane release from rumen fermentation in vitro (Rusitec) , 1998 .

[58]  P. M. Lang,et al.  Atmospheric methane levels off: Temporary pause or a new steady‐state? , 2003 .

[59]  Y. Kurokawa,et al.  Effects of a twin strain of saccharomyces cerevisiae live cells on mixed ruminal microorganism fermentation in vitro. , 2004, Journal of animal science.

[60]  K. Lassey,et al.  Seasonal variation in methane emission from dairy cows and breeding ewes grazing ryegrass/white clover pasture in New Zealand , 2002 .

[61]  D. Gibb,et al.  Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle, 7th ed , 1997 .

[62]  F. Mcintosh,et al.  Changes in the microbial population of a rumen-simulating fermenter in response to yeast culture , 1998 .

[63]  Q. Shu,et al.  Immunisation against lactic acidosis in cattle. , 1999, Research in veterinary science.

[64]  J. Liu,et al.  Effects of dietary sources of vegetable oils on performance of high-yielding lactating cows and conjugated linoleic acids in milk. , 2005, Journal of dairy science.

[65]  D. Johnson,et al.  Monensin and Lasalocid Effects on Fermentation in Vitro , 1981 .

[66]  J. Jouany,et al.  The importance of methanogens associated with ciliate protozoa in ruminal methane production in vitro , 1995, Letters in applied microbiology.

[67]  T. Yan,et al.  Prediction of methane energy output in dairy and beef cattle offered grass silage-based diets , 2000 .

[68]  K. Kimura,et al.  Methane Emission, Nutrient Digestibility, Energy Metabolism and Blood Metabolites in Dairy Cows Fed Silages with and without Galacto-oligosaccharides Supplementation , 2003 .

[69]  R. Hegarty.  Reducing rumen methane emissions through elimination of rumen protozoa , 1999 .