Last reviewed on November 2, 2011 at 10:05
Documentation of California's Greenhouse Gas Inventory
(First Edition - Last updated on 11/19/2007)
♦ Category: Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use
IPCC: |
3A2ai - Livestock - Manure Management - Cattle - Dairy Cows |
Sector: |
Agriculture & Forestry : Manure Management : Cattle |
♦ Activity: Livestock population - Dairy cows
♦ Greenhouse gas: Methane ( CH4 )
► Year 1990 —
● Greenhouse gas emission estimate —
Amount: |
191,040 tonnes of CH4 Emitted (4,011,843 tonnes CO2 Eq.) |
Basis: |
Calculation |
Calculation: |
[Livestock population] * [Typical animal mass] * [Volatile solids production rate] * [Average number of days per year] * [State weighted methane conversion factor] * [Maximum methane production capacity] * [Methane density] |
Reference: |
USEPA (2007). Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2005. United States Environmental Protection Agency. EPA 430-R-07-002. and Annex 3.10: Methodology for Estimating CH4 and N2O Emissions from Manure Management. April 15, 2007. Washington DC. http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/usgginv_archive.html |
● Activity level used in calculations —
Activity: |
Livestock population = 1,114,176 head of Dairy cows |
Basis: |
Data |
Reference: |
Wirth, T. (2007). Personal communication between Neva Lowery of CA Air Resources Board and Tom Wirth, Greenhouse Gas Inventory Source Lead, US Environmental Protection Agency, March 2007. |
● Parameters and Constants used in calculations —
Parameter: |
Maximum methane production capacity = 2.400E-04 m3 / g |
Reference: |
USEPA (2007). Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2005. United States Environmental Protection Agency. EPA 430-R-07-002. and Annex 3.10: Methodology for Estimating CH4 and N2O Emissions from Manure Management. April 15, 2007. Washington DC. http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/usgginv_archive.html |
Parameter: |
State weighted methane conversion factor = 0.488 |
Reference: |
Wirth, T. (2007). Personal communication between Neva Lowery of CA Air Resources Board and Tom Wirth, Greenhouse Gas Inventory Source Lead, US Environmental Protection Agency, March 2007. |
Parameter: |
Typical animal mass = 604 kg / head |
Reference: |
USEPA (2007). Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2005. United States Environmental Protection Agency. EPA 430-R-07-002. and Annex 3.10: Methodology for Estimating CH4 and N2O Emissions from Manure Management. April 15, 2007. Washington DC. http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/usgginv_archive.html |
Parameter: |
Volatile solids production rate = 10 g / kg / day |
Reference: |
Wirth, T. (2007). Personal communication between Neva Lowery of CA Air Resources Board and Tom Wirth, Greenhouse Gas Inventory Source Lead, US Environmental Protection Agency, March 2007. |
Constant: |
Average number of days per year = 365.2425 day |
Reference: |
USNO (2004). U.S. Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications Department, Leap Years. Accessed online at: http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/leap_years.php |
Constant: |
Methane density = 662 g / m3 |
Reference: |
USEPA (2007). Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2005. United States Environmental Protection Agency. EPA 430-R-07-002. and Annex 3.10: Methodology for Estimating CH4 and N2O Emissions from Manure Management. April 15, 2007. Washington DC. http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/usgginv_archive.html |
Constant: |
Global warming potential of CH4 = 21 |
Reference: |
IPCC (1996). Second Assessment Report. Climate Change 1995: WG I - The Science of Climate Change. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; J.T. Houghton, L.G. Meira Filho, B.A. Callander, N. Harris, A. Kattenberg, and K. Maskell (eds.); Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, U.K. |
● Greenhouse gas emitted per unit activity —
Amount: |
171,463 g (i.e. 171.46 kg) of CH4 per head of Dairy cows 3,600,726 g (i.e. 3.6 tonnes) of CO2eq. per head of Dairy cows |