Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Aug 1;100(8):skac211.
doi: 10.1093/jas/skac211.

Application of a hand-held laser methane detector for measuring enteric methane emissions from cattle in intensive farming

Kyewon Kang  1 , Hyunjin Cho  1 , Sinyong Jeong  1 , Seoyoung Jeon  1 , Mingyung Lee  1 , Seul Lee  2 , Yulchang Baek  2 , Joonpyo Oh  3 , Seongwon Seo  1
Affiliations

Application of a hand-held laser methane detector for measuring enteric methane emissions from cattle in intensive farming

Kyewon Kang et al. J Anim Sci. .

Abstract

The hand-held laser methane detector (LMD) technique has been suggested as an alternative method for measuring methane (CH4) emissions from enteric fermentation of ruminants in the field. This study aimed to establish a standard procedure for using LMD to assess CH4 production in cattle and evaluate the efficacy of the protocol to detect differences in CH4 emissions from cattle fed with diets of different forage-to-concentrate (FC) ratios. Experiment 1 was conducted with four Hanwoo steers (584 ± 57.4 kg body weight [BW]) individually housed in metabolic cages. The LMD was installed on a tripod aimed at the animal's nostril, and the CH4 concentration in the exhaled gas was measured for 6 min every hour for 2 consecutive days. For the data processing, the CH4 concentration peaks were identified by the automatic multi-scale peak detection algorithm. The peaks were then separated into those from respiration and eructation by fitting combinations of two of the four distribution functions (normal, log-normal, gamma, and Weibull) using the mixdist R package. In addition, the most appropriate time and number of consecutive measurements to represent the daily average CH4 concentration were determined. In experiment 2, 30 Hanwoo growing steers (343 ± 24.6 kg BW), blocked by BW, were randomly divided into three groups. Three different diets were provided to each group: high FC ratio (35:65) with low-energy concentrate (HFC-LEC), high FC ratio with high-energy concentrate (HFC-HEC), and low FC ratio (25:75) with high-energy concentrate (LFC-HEC). After 10 d of feeding the diets, the CH4 concentrations for all steers were measured and analyzed in duplicate according to the protocol established in experiment 1. In experiment 1, the mean correlation coefficient between the CH4 concentration from respiration and eructation was highest when a combination of two normal distributions was assumed (r = 0.79). The most appropriate measurement times were as follows: 2 h and 1 h before, and 1 h and 2 h after morning feeding. Compared with LFC-HEC, HFC-LEC showed 49% and 57% higher CH4 concentrations in exhaled gas from respiration and eructation (P < 0.01). In conclusion, the LMD method can be applied to evaluate differences in CH4 emissions in cattle using the protocol established in this study.

Keywords: cattle; eructation; forage-to-concentrate ratio; laser methane detector; methane emission; respiration.

Plain language summary

The hand-held laser methane detector (LMD) technique has been suggested as a potential method for measuring methane (CH4) emissions from enteric fermentation of ruminants in the field. This study aimed to establish a standard procedure for using LMD to assess CH4 production in cattle and evaluate the efficacy of the protocol to detect differences in CH4 emissions from cattle fed with diets of different forage-to-concentrate (FC) ratios which is known to affect CH4 emissions. Experiment 1 was conducted to establish a protocol for measuring and analyzing the CH4 emissions from cattle using LMD. In experiment 2, 30 Hanwoo growing steers were divided into three groups and fed with a diet of high FC ratio (35:65) with low-energy concentrate (HFC-LEC), high FC ratio (35:65) with high-energy concentrate (HFC-HEC), or low FC ratio (25:75) with high-energy concentrate (LFC-HEC). The CH4 concentrations for all steers were measured in duplicate according to the protocol established in experiment 1. HFC-LEC showed 49% and 57% higher CH4 concentrations in exhaled gas from respiration and eructation, respectively (P < 0.01), than LFC-HEC. In conclusion, the LMD method can be applied to evaluate differences in CH4 emissions in cattle using the protocol established in this study.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Pearson correlation coefficient between CH4 concentrations, measured by LMD, in the exhaled gas from respiration and eructation differentiated by fitting a two probability distributions (respiration–eructation). N, normal; L, log-normal; G, gamma; W, Weibull distribution functions.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The square root of the sum of squares of differences (RSSD) between the 24-h mean and the composite mean of CH4 concentrations in the exhaled gas from respiration (in ppm). The mean (point) and standard deviation (error bars) of four steers of the composite means of two (circles), three (triangles), four (diamonds), and five (squares) subsequent hours at each hour of the day over 2 d.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
The square root of the sum of squares of differences (RSSD) between the 24-h mean and the composite mean of CH4 concentrations in the exhaled gas from eructation (in ppm). The mean (point) and standard deviation (error bars) of four steers of the composite means of two (circles), three (triangles), four (diamonds), and five (squares) subsequent hours at each hour of the day over 2 d.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Plots of the CH4 concentration in the exhaled gas from respiration against forage NDF(%), dietary NDF(%), forage as a percentage of dietary DM (%), and NDF intake (in kg/d). The lines represent the best-fit regression.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Plots of the CH4 concentration in the exhaled gas from eructation against forage NDF(%), dietary NDF(%), forage as a percentage of dietary DM (%), and NDF intake (in kg/d). The lines represent the best-fit regression.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Baldwin, R. L., Thornley J. H. M., and Beever D. E.. . 1987. Metabolism of the lactating cow: II. Digestive elements of a mechanistic model. J. Dairy Res. 54:107–131. doi:10.1017/S0022029900025231. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Beauchemin, K. A., Kreuzer M., O’mara F., and McAllister T. A.. . 2008. Nutritional management for enteric methane abatement: a review. Aust. J. Exp. Agr. 48:21–27. doi:10.1071/EA07199. - DOI
    1. Cameron, L., Chagunda M. G. G., Roberts D. J., and Lee M. A.. . 2018. A comparison of milk yields and methane production from three contrasting high-yielding dairy cattle feeding regimes: cut-and-carry, partial grazing and total mixed ration. Grass Forage Sci. 73:789–797. doi:10.1111/gfs.12353. - DOI
    1. Chagunda, M. G. G., Ross D., and Roberts D. J.. . 2009. On the use of a laser methane detector in dairy cows. Comput. Electron. Agr. 68:157–160. doi:10.1016/j.compag.2009.05.008. - DOI
    1. Chagunda, M. G. G., and Yan T.. . 2011. Do methane measurements from a laser detector and an indirect open-circuit respiration calorimetric chamber agree sufficiently closely? Anim. Feed Sci. Tech. 165:8–14. doi:10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2011.02.005. - DOI

Publication types