Impacts of European livestock production: nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus and greenhouse gas emissions, land-use, water eutrophication and biodiversity
Journal article, 2015
Livestock production systems currently occupy around 28% of the land surface of the European Union (equivalent to 65% of the agricultural land). In conjunction with other human activities, livestock production systems affect water, air and soil quality, global climate and biodiversity, altering the biogeochemical cycles of nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon. Here, we quantify the contribution of European livestock production to these major impacts. For each environmental effect, the contribution of livestock is expressed as shares of the emitted compounds and land used, as compared to the whole agricultural sector. The results show that the livestock sector contributes significantly to agricultural environmental impacts. This contribution is 78% for terrestrial biodiversity loss, 80% for soil acidification and air pollution (ammonia and nitrogen oxides emissions), 81% for global warming, and 73% for water pollution (both N and P). The agriculture sector itself is one of the major contributors to these environmental impacts, ranging between 12% for global warming and 59% for N water quality impact. Significant progress in mitigating these environmental impacts in Europe will only be possible through a combination of technological measures reducing livestock emissions, improved food choices and reduced food waste of European citizens.
climate change
biodiversity loss
coastal eutrophication
European Union
soil acidification
air quality
livestock production
Author
A. Leip
Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission
G. Billen
Milieux Environnementaux, Transferts et Interactions dans les Hydrosystemes et les Sols
J. Garnier
Milieux Environnementaux, Transferts et Interactions dans les Hydrosystemes et les Sols
B. Grizzetti
Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission
L. Lassaletta
Milieux Environnementaux, Transferts et Interactions dans les Hydrosystemes et les Sols
Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency
S. Reis
University of Exeter
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
David Simpson
Chalmers, Earth and Space Sciences, Global Environmental Measurements and Modelling
M. A. Sutton
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
W. de Vries
Wageningen University and Research
F. Weiss
Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission
H. Westhoek
Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency
Environmental Research Letters
1748-9326 (ISSN)
Vol. 10 11 115004Driving Forces
Sustainable development
Subject Categories
Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences
Roots
Basic sciences
DOI
10.1088/1748-9326/10/11/115004