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. 2013 Dec 24;110(52):20888-93.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.1308149110.

Biomass use, production, feed efficiencies, and greenhouse gas emissions from global livestock systems

Mario Herrero, Petr Havlík, Hugo Valin, An Notenbaert, Mariana C Rufino, Philip K Thornton, Michael Blümmel, Franz Weiss, Delia Grace, Michael Obersteiner

Biomass use, production, feed efficiencies, and greenhouse gas emissions from global livestock systems

Mario Herrero et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

We present a unique, biologically consistent, spatially disaggregated global livestock dataset containing information on biomass use, production, feed efficiency, excretion, and greenhouse gas emissions for 28 regions, 8 livestock production systems, 4 animal species (cattle, small ruminants, pigs, and poultry), and 3 livestock products (milk, meat, and eggs). The dataset contains over 50 new global maps containing high-resolution information for understanding the multiple roles (biophysical, economic, social) that livestock can play in different parts of the world. The dataset highlights: (i) feed efficiency as a key driver of productivity, resource use, and greenhouse gas emission intensities, with vast differences between production systems and animal products; (ii) the importance of grasslands as a global resource, supplying almost 50% of biomass for animals while continuing to be at the epicentre of land conversion processes; and (iii) the importance of mixed crop–livestock systems, producing the greater part of animal production (over 60%) in both the developed and the developing world. These data provide critical information for developing targeted, sustainable solutions for the livestock sector and its widely ranging contribution to the global food system.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Global production of meat and milk from ruminants by region and production system. LGA. livestock grazing arid; LGH, livestock grazing humid; LGT, livestock grazing temperate; MXA, mixed arid; MXH, mixed humid; MXT, mixed temperate; OTHER, other systems; URBAN, urban systems.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Regional estimates of global feed consumption by livestock species: (A) grains, (B) grass, (C) occasional feeds, (D) stovers (all in million tons of DM). BOVDh, dairy cattle; BOVOh, beef cattle; PIGS and PTRY, poultry; SGTDh, small ruminant dairy; SGTOh, small ruminants for meat.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Map of global ME intake by ruminants (thousands of megajoules per square kilometer).
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Feed-use efficiencies per kilogram of protein from (A) cattle meat and (B) cattle milk by production system and region.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 5.
(A) Non-CO2 GHG emissions from global ruminant livestock (cattle, sheep, and goats) by production system and region. (B) Spatial distribution of non-CO2 greenhouse emissions from ruminants (kg CO2 eq kilogram edible animal protein). The relationship between the diet quality of ruminants [ME (MJ)/kg DM] and the non CO2 greenhouse gas emission intensity for edible animal protein (kg CO2 eq per kilogram edible animal protein) from ruminant milk (C) and meat (D).
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