Biomass use, production, feed efficiencies, and greenhouse gas emissions from global livestock systems
Edited by William C. Clark, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, and approved October 15, 2013 (received for review April 30, 2013)
Introduction
December 16, 2013
Significance
This report is unique in presenting a high-resolution dataset of biomass use, production, feed efficiencies, and greenhouse gas emissions by global livestock. This information will allow the global-change research community in enhancing our understanding of the sustainability of livestock systems and their role in food security, livelihoods and environmental sustainability.
Abstract
We present a unique, biologically consistent, spatially disaggregated global livestock dataset containing information on biomass use, production, feed efficiency, excretion, and greenhouse gas emissions for 28 regions, 8 livestock production systems, 4 animal species (cattle, small ruminants, pigs, and poultry), and 3 livestock products (milk, meat, and eggs). The dataset contains over 50 new global maps containing high-resolution information for understanding the multiple roles (biophysical, economic, social) that livestock can play in different parts of the world. The dataset highlights: (i) feed efficiency as a key driver of productivity, resource use, and greenhouse gas emission intensities, with vast differences between production systems and animal products; (ii) the importance of grasslands as a global resource, supplying almost 50% of biomass for animals while continuing to be at the epicentre of land conversion processes; and (iii) the importance of mixed crop–livestock systems, producing the greater part of animal production (over 60%) in both the developed and the developing world. These data provide critical information for developing targeted, sustainable solutions for the livestock sector and its widely ranging contribution to the global food system.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported in part by the CGIAR Research Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security Programme; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Global Futures for Agriculture project; and the EU FP7 AnimalChange project.
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Submission history
Published online: December 16, 2013
Published in issue: December 24, 2013
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported in part by the CGIAR Research Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security Programme; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Global Futures for Agriculture project; and the EU FP7 AnimalChange project.
Notes
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
Authors
Competing Interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Biomass use, production, feed efficiencies, and greenhouse gas emissions from global livestock systems, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.
110 (52) 20888-20893,
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1308149110
(2013).
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