Ruminant contribution to enteric methane emissions and possible mitigation strategies in the Southern Africa Development Community region

• Published in: Mitigation and adaptation strategies for global change Vol. 27; no. 7; p. 47
• Main Authors: Seketeme, Mompoloki, Madibela, Othusitse R., Khumoetsile, Thabo, Rugoho, Innocent
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.10.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Additives; Agricultural production; agricultural productivity; Algae; Aquatic plants; Araceae; Arid lands; Arid zones; Atmospheric Sciences; Biological activity; Climate change; Climate Change Management and Policy; Climate prediction; Digestibility; Duckweed; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Emissions; Emitters; Environmental Management; Feed quality; Feeds; Floating plants; Freshwater plants; Gases; Grazing; Greenhouse effect; Greenhouse gases; greenhouses; Livestock; Livestock industry; macroalgae; Metabolites; Methane; methane production; Methanogenesis; methanogens; Microbial activity; microbiome; Microbiomes; Microorganisms; Mitigation; Populations; Productivity; rain; Rainfall; ruminants; rural economics; Seaweeds; Secondary metabolites; Southern Africa; South Africa; Southern Africa; Methane; Mitigation; Greenhouse gas emissions; Grazed forage; Ruminants
• ISSN: 1381-2386; 1573-1596
• DOI: 10.1007/s11027-022-10026-5

The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region is not a major emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG). However, Sub-Saharan Africa is considered a potential future hotspot for GHG emissions because of its large livestock population dispersed across large arid lands, coupled with the inherent low digestible feeds in the region and consequently low productivity of livestock. In SADC, climate change is predicted to increase temperatures further reducing agricultural productivity. Therefore, there is incentive to reduce agriculture’s contribution to GHG emissions in the SADC region. Ruminant production, a mainstay of rural economy, is predicted to decrease because of diminished grazing due to reduced rainfall and feed quality. However, ruminants’ enteric methane (CH 4 ) production contributes to GHG emissions. This review explores strategies for the SADC region to reduce CH 4 by ruminants. As methanogenesis is an outcome of microbial activity, potential opportunities include selecting animals with inherent low CH 4 production; altering ruminal microbial populations to those that do not yield CH 4 ; enhancing feed digestibility by feeding additives which improve diet quality and alter the ruminal microbiome and using specific forages such as seaweed or duckweed that contain plant secondary metabolites that may decrease methanogen populations or methanogenesis. These strategies are considered in terms of their potential magnitude of CH 4 mitigation, the practicality for their implementation in the SADC region and their suitability to be included in the grazing-based livestock industries in the SADC region.