New global greenhouse gas database available for interrogation

Livestock manure management is an important source of the greenhouse gases nitrous oxide (N₂O), ammonia (NH₃), and methane (CH₄). While previous studies have evaluated manure-related emissions and associated key variables at regional, national, or continental scales, there have been few studies focusing on the drivers of these emissions using a global dataset.

A new article in the Journal of Environmental Quality details a global database on N₂O and NH₃ emission factors from land-applied manure and excreta deposited by grazing livestock. This “field” database is produced as part of an international Global Research Alliance project called DATAMAN and is the first of three manure management databases to be launched; the others (“housing” and “storage”) are to be launched later this year. The “field” database contains more than 5,000 observations compiled from 184 studies and includes emission factors, manure characteristics, soil properties, and climatic conditions.

Open access to the database (at www.dataman.co.nz) allows researchers and inventory compilers to download and interrogate the data to determine key variables influencing emissions, evaluate the effectiveness of mitigation strategies, and ultimately produce refined emission factor values for future national greenhouse gas inventories and NH₃ emission reporting.