A major pathway for carbon and nitrogen losses-Gas emissions during storage of solid pig manure in China

This study investigated the carbon(C) and nitrogen(N) gas emissions(NO,NH,COand CH) from solid pig manure management in China.Gas emissions were quantified from static piles over 60 days during summer in China’s Yangtze River Basin,using Drager-Tube and static chamber-gas chromatography techniques.High emissions of NHand NO were observed at the early stage of storage,but high emission of CHoccured later during storage.Overall,62% of the total C in the original pile was lost; COand CHemissions accounted for 57 and 0.2% of C lost respectively.Over the same time,41% of the total N in the original pile was lost; NHand NO emissions accounted for 15 and 0.3% of N lost respectively.The volatilization of NHduring storage in summer was 4.56 g NHper kg dry weight.The total greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions during storage accounted for 67.93 g COequivalent per kg dry weight; NO and CHcontributed to 46 and 55% of total GHG emissions respectively.Given China’s major role in pig production,further attention should given to pig manure management to mitigate its contribution to atmospheric pollution.