Meo Zilio David, Iacurto Miriam, Cenci Francesco, Steri Roberto
Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e L'Analisi dell'Economia Agraria, Centro di Ricerca per la Zootecnia e L'acquacoltura, Monterotondo, 00015 Rome, Italy.
Associazione Allevatori dell'Umbria e delle Marche, Corciano, 06073 Perugia, Italy.
Animals (Basel). 2024 Dec 18;14(24):3652. doi: 10.3390/ani14243652.
In Italy, the number of farmed dairy buffaloes rose up to approximately 436,000 heads in 2023 (+22% in the last 15 years), a fourfold increase compared to the 1980s, due to the growing market interest in mozzarella cheese. The increased demand for mozzarella cheese, in turn, requires higher production, which can result in increased methane emission from the sector. Therefore, it is necessary to establish mitigation and selection schemes for low-emission strategies. The current study aimed to highlight sources of variation in methane emission from lactating Italian Mediterranean buffaloes measured using a laser methane detector in order to identify practical and methodological aspects to consider when designing experiments focused on methane emission evaluation. Methane (CH), exhaled from 60 cows, was recorded twice a day during milking, over two weeks per month for at least three months throughout a whole lactation cycle. The animal (individual), days in milk, parity, month, operator, milking entry order, and milking session effects were significant for methane emission ( < 0.0001). Our results showed that laser methane detector may be used as a rapid tool for methane emission studies and highlighted which factors can account for individual measures. This instrument is easy to use, fast, versatile, and not too expensive. These characteristics make it suitable for large-scale herd screening and monitoring.
在意大利，由于市场对马苏里拉奶酪的兴趣日益浓厚，2023年养殖的奶水牛数量增至约43.6万头（在过去15年中增长了22%），与20世纪80年代相比增长了四倍。对马苏里拉奶酪需求的增加反过来需要更高的产量，这可能导致该行业甲烷排放量增加。因此，有必要制定低排放策略的缓解和选择方案。本研究旨在突出使用激光甲烷探测器测量的意大利地中海泌乳水牛甲烷排放的变化来源，以便确定在设计侧重于甲烷排放评估的实验时需要考虑的实际和方法学方面。在整个泌乳周期中，每月至少三个月，在挤奶期间每天两次记录60头奶牛呼出的甲烷（CH）。动物（个体）、泌乳天数、胎次、月份、操作人员、挤奶进入顺序和挤奶时段对甲烷排放有显著影响（<0.0001）。我们的结果表明，激光甲烷探测器可作为甲烷排放研究的快速工具，并突出了哪些因素可解释个体测量结果。该仪器易于使用、快速、通用且不太昂贵。这些特性使其适用于大规模畜群筛查和监测。
