Ammonia emissions from livestock industries in Canada: Feasibility of abatement strategies

An updated national ammonia (NH3) emissions inventory was employed to study the relationship between NH3 emissions and livestock industries in Canada. Emissions from animal agriculture accounted for 322 kilotonnes (kt) or 64% of Canadian NH3 emissions in 2002. Cattle and swine accounted for the bulk of livestock emissions. The provinces of Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan accounted for 28.1%, 22.0%, 18.7%, and 13.1% of total livestock emissions, respectively. Emissions from Ontario and Quebec were attributed to the intensive production of dairy, hogs and poultry. Dairy cattle emissions per hectolitre of milk were higher in Ontario and Quebec than in other provinces, while swine emissions per livestock unit were higher than either beef or dairy cattle. A review of the abatement literature indicated diet manipulation to improve N efficiency and land spreading methods are very effective techniques to lower NH3 emissions. Future research is required to evaluate the feasibility of biofilters and feces/urine separation methods. - Livestock NH3 emissions are higher in areas characterized by intensive livestock production with diet manipulation and land spreading offering the greatest potential for NH3 abatement options.