Citation: Vargas, J.; Ungerfeld, E.;
Muñoz, C.; DiLorenzo, N. Feeding
Strategies to Mitigate Enteric
Methane Emission from Ruminants
in Grassland Systems. Animals 2022,
12, 1132. https://doi.org/
10.3390/ani12091132
Academic Editor: Donald C. Beitz
Received: 18 March 2022
Accepted: 15 April 2022
Published: 28 April 2022
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animals
Review
Feeding Strategies to Mitigate Enteric Methane Emission from
Ruminants in Grassland Systems
Juan Vargas
1
, Emilio Ungerfeld
2
, Camila Muñoz
3
and Nicolas DiLorenzo
1,
*
1
Department of Animal Sciences, North Florida Research and Education Center, University of Florida,
Marianna, FL 32443, USA; jvargasmartinez@ufl.edu
2
Centro Regional de Investigación Carillanca, Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias,
Temuco 4880000, Chile; emilio.ungerfeld@inia.cl
3
Centro Regional de Investigación Remehue, Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias,
Osorno 5290000, Chile; camila.munoz@inia.cl
* Correspondence: ndilorenzo@ufl.edu
Simple Summary: Ruminants under grazing conditions play an important role, especially in devel-
oping countries. Enteric methane emissions from ruminants are greater with pasture-based diets;
however, it is not clear which abatement practices are effective to reduce methane emissions under
grazing conditions. The objective of this review was to identify and describe enteric methane abate-
ment practices for ruminants that are applicable under grazing conditions. Decreasing the pre-grazing
herbage mass reduced methane emissions per unit of product. Other grazing management practices
such as increased stocking rate, decreased forage maturity, rotational stocking, and incorporating
tannin-containing or non-tannin-containing legumes showed inconsistent results. Nitrogen fertil-
ization or silvopastoral systems did not modify methane emissions, although they may alter carbon
sequestration in a system. Supplementation in grazing conditions shows inconsistent responses on
methane emissions. However, lipid supplementation showed promising results. Identifying and
implementing grazing strategies and supplementation practices under grazing conditions is required
to increase efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of these systems.
Abstract: Ruminants produce approximately 30% of total anthropogenic methane emissions globally.
The objective of this manuscript was to review nutritional enteric methane abatement practices for
ruminants that are applicable under grazing conditions. A total of 1548 peer-reviewed research
articles related to the abatement of enteric methane emissions were retrieved and classified into four
categories: non-experimental, in vitro, in vivo confined, and in vivo grazing. The methane abatement
strategies for grazing systems were arranged into grazing management and supplementation prac-
tices. Only 9% of the retrieved papers have been conducted under grazing conditions. Eight grazing
management practices have been evaluated to reduce methane emissions. Decreasing the pre-grazing
herbage mass reduced the methane emission per unit of product. Other grazing management prac-
tices such as increased stocking rate, decreased forage maturity, rotational stocking, and incorporating
tannin-containing or non-tannin-containing feeds showed contradictory results. Nitrogen fertilization
or silvopastoral systems did not modify methane emissions. Conversely, supplementation practices
in grazing conditions showed contradictory responses on methane emissions. Lipid supplementation
showed promising results and suggests applicability under grazing conditions. Identifying and
implementing grazing strategies and supplementation practices under grazing conditions is required
to increase efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of these systems.
Keywords: diet supplementation; grassland systems; grazing management; methane emission;
secondary compounds tannin-containing legume
Animals 2022, 12, 1132. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12091132 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/animals