PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The growth in the world’s population over the next decades will increase demand for food and intensify agricultural activities. In the period 2007-2016, Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Uses (AFOLU) activities accounted for around 13% of carbon dioxide (CO2), 44% of methane (CH4), and 82% of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. Manure management accounted for around 78.9 million tonnes of CO2 eq. emissions, i.e. 16.8% of the total agriculture sector emissions in the EU28. Recent studies also estimate a nitrogen input surplus of over 200 000 t/y on cropland and fodder in Mediterranean areas. The confluence of high-density livestock production areas, large areas of fertilised arable land and a semi-arid climate with a seasonal rainfall pattern make agricultural activities particularly prone to the generation of ammonia (NH3) emissions. Both Spain and Italy occupy an outstanding position in terms of livestock production in Europe. According to the Spanish National Emissions Inventory of 2018, manure management is responsible for the emission of 6 749 t CO2 eq. in the form of CH4, and 1 906 t CO2 eq. as N2O. In Italy, dairy cattle farming is the most diffuse livestock activity and represents the main source of GHG emissions, mostly as CH4 emissions from enteric fermentation and manure storage (>20% of total national emissions), and N2O emission from manure application to soils (>10% of total national emissions). Manure management is also responsible for 75% of total ammonia emissions, an indirect source of N2O emissions.
OBJECTIVES
The LIFE CLINMED-FARM project will demonstrate multi-pollutant and multi-effect approaches to slurry manure management for climate change mitigation in Mediterranean agricultural systems at farm-scale. The aim is to reduce GHG and NH3 emissions using comprehensive slurry management systems in two pilot study cases, a pig farm in Spain and a dairy farm with anaerobic digestion plants in Italy. The project will therefore address the main environmental concerns linked to manure management: methane emissions, nitrous oxide emissions, ammonia emissions, excess nutrients, and the disconnection between crop and livestock systems.
In the pilot studies, the project beneficiaries will test and validate: i) different strategies (fertigation with digestate liquid fraction, continuous land cover, acidification in field application, use of nitrification inhibitors, direct application systems, balanced fertilisation, nutrient management planning); and ii) energy-efficient technologies (bioenergy production at farm scale, innovative gasometric coverage system, absorption refrigeration system).
The project’s objectives are closely linked to the Effort Sharing Regulation (EU) 2018/842, covering GHG emissions from the IPCC category of agriculture, and address European targets on emission reductions for the non-ETS sector commitments of the Paris Agreement, recently increased by the 2030 Climate Target Plan. The project will also generate useful information for the EU Climate Target Plan 2030 to achieve 55% emissions cuts in agriculture and renewable energy. Furthermore, the project actions answer to the Common Agricultural Policy’s specific objectives for 2021-2027 for research and technology, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.
RESULTS
Expected results:
- Reductions of over 70% in GHG (around 1 178 t CO2 eq./year) and 60% in NH3 emissions are expected due to the use of the manure management systems;
- Other indirect benefits will be the reduction of particulate matter emissions, over 24% due to the ammonia emission reductions achieved. Approximately 17 000 m3 of digestate will be managed in the Spanish farm and 16 800 m3 in the Italian farm;and
- In the medium-term, the transfer of these slurry management strategies to another three nearby regions is expected.
