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Livestock enclosures in drylands of Sub-Saharan Africa are overlooked hotspots of N₂O emissions

Environmental Studies and Forestry

Livestock enclosures in drylands of Sub-Saharan Africa are overlooked hotspots of N₂O emissions

K. Butterbach-bahl, G. Gettel, et al.

Discover how abandoned livestock enclosures in Sub-Saharan Africa continue to emit significant levels of N₂O, more than 40 years after their abandonment. This research, conducted by Klaus Butterbach-Bahl and colleagues, reveals that these sites are notable N₂O hotspots, contributing about 5% of Africa's anthropogenic emissions.

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Playback language: English
Abstract
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) houses about half the global livestock population, which has significantly increased in the last 60 years. Most livestock reside in semi-arid and arid environments, spending days grazing and nights in enclosures (bomas). Manure accumulates in these bomas, and this study shows that even after abandonment for 40 years, N₂O fluxes from these abandoned bomas remain an order of magnitude higher than adjacent savanna sites. Scaling this to SSA suggests abandoned bomas are significant continental N₂O hotspots, contributing approximately 5% of Africa's total anthropogenic N₂O emissions.
Publisher
Nature Communications
Published On
Sep 15, 2020
Authors
Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Gretchen Gettel, Ralf Kiese, Kathrin Fuchs, Christian Werner, Jaber Rahimi, Matti Barthel, Lutz Merbold
Tags
Sub-Saharan Africa
livestock
N₂O emissions
abandoned enclosures
manure
environment
anthropogenic

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