Mechanisms behind high N2O emissions from livestock enclosures in Kenya revealed by dual-isotope and functional gene analyses

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cg.authorship.typesCGIAR and developing country instituteen
cg.authorship.typesCGIAR and advanced research instituteen
cg.contributor.affiliationETH Zürichen
cg.contributor.affiliationNanjing Agricultural Universityen
cg.contributor.affiliationUNSW Sydneyen
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Livestock Research Instituteen
cg.contributor.affiliationKarlsruhe Institute of Technologyen
cg.contributor.affiliationAarhus Universityen
cg.contributor.affiliationAgroscope, Switzerlanden
cg.contributor.donorCGIAR Trust Funden
cg.contributor.donorPioneer Center for Research in Sustainable Agricultural Futuresen
cg.contributor.donorEuropean Unionen
cg.contributor.donorNational Key Research and Development Program, Chinaen
cg.contributor.donorSanya Institute of Nanjing Agricultural Universityen
cg.contributor.initiativeLivestock and Climate
cg.contributor.initiativeLow-Emission Food Systems
cg.coverage.countryKenya
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2KE
cg.coverage.regionAfrica
cg.coverage.regionEastern Africa
cg.creator.identifierSonja Leitner: 0000-0002-1276-8071
cg.creator.identifierKlaus Butterbach-Bahl: 0000-0001-9499-6598
cg.creator.identifierLutz Merbold: 0000-0003-4974-170X
cg.howPublishedFormally Publisheden
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109505en
cg.isijournalISI Journalen
cg.issn1879-3428en
cg.journalSoil Biology and Biochemistryen
cg.reviewStatusPeer Reviewen
cg.subject.actionAreaResilient Agrifood Systems
cg.subject.actionAreaSystems Transformation
cg.subject.ilriFORAGESen
cg.subject.ilriGHG EMISSIONSen
cg.subject.impactAreaClimate adaptation and mitigation
cg.volume196en
dc.contributor.authorXiantao Fangen
dc.contributor.authorHarris, S.J.en
dc.contributor.authorLeitner, Sonjaen
dc.contributor.authorButterbach-Bahl, Klausen
dc.contributor.authorConz, R.F.en
dc.contributor.authorMerbold, Lutzen
dc.contributor.authorDannenmann, M.en
dc.contributor.authorOyugi, A.en
dc.contributor.authorShuwei Liuen
dc.contributor.authorJianwen Zouen
dc.contributor.authorSix, Johanen
dc.contributor.authorBarthel, M.en
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-30T12:12:32Zen
dc.date.available2024-07-30T12:12:32Zen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/149305
dc.titleMechanisms behind high N2O emissions from livestock enclosures in Kenya revealed by dual-isotope and functional gene analysesen
dcterms.abstractLivestock manure contributes to global warming due to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, especially nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4). In the arid and semi-arid lands of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), extensive pastoral grazing systems are common, with cattle grazing in the savanna during the day and kept in enclosures (called bomas in Kenya) during the night. Manure is usually not removed from bomas but left to accumulate, leading to excessive local nitrogen loads, making these bomas an overlooked N2O emission hotspot in SSA that is currently not accounted for in national and regional GHG budgets. Here, we present the first in-situ isotope measurements of N2O fluxes from 37 cattle bomas along an age gradient ranging from 0 to 5 years after boma abandonment in Kenya along with functional gene analysis of soil and manure samples. The isotopic composition of the emitted N2O from bomas suggests that on average 91 ± 8% N2O was produced via bacterial denitrification and/or nitrifier denitrification, with little variation across boma age class. We also found high levels of N2O reduction to N2 across all sample sites (81 ± 9%), indicating high levels of N2O consumption. The abundances of denitrification-related genes (nirK and narG) were significantly higher than those of nitrification-related genes (amoA: AOA and AOB) in the cattle manure samples taken from the bomas, corroborating N2O emissions largely being attributed to denitrification. Significant abundance of the reduction-related gene (nosZ) also corroborated the high potential for microbial N2O reduction in bomas. Thus, by combining dual-isotope and functional gene analysis, we were able to identify source processes that govern N2O emissions from these systems. More generally, making use of the manure by spreading it in the vicinity of the bomas or on dedicated forage plots could provide a win-win by enhancing savanna productivity while simultaneously mitigating GHG emissions.en
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Access
dcterms.audienceCGIARen
dcterms.audienceDonorsen
dcterms.audienceScientistsen
dcterms.available2024-06-21
dcterms.bibliographicCitationXiantao Fang, Harris, S.J., Leitner, S.M., Butterbach-Bahl, K., Conz, R.F., Merbold, L., Dannenmann, M., Oyugi, A., Shuwei Liu, Jianwen Zou, Six, J. and Barthel, M. 2024. Mechanisms behind high N2O emissions from livestock enclosures in Kenya revealed by dual-isotope and functional gene analyses. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 196:109505.en
dcterms.issued2024-09-01
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-4.0
dcterms.publisherElsevieren
dcterms.subjectgas emissionsen
dcterms.subjectemissionen
dcterms.subjectlivestock manureen
dcterms.subjectforageen
dcterms.typeJournal Article

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ILRI sustainable livestock systems program outputs (2017–2024)
CGIAR Initiative on Livestock and Climate
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