Development of historic database and meta-analysis facility for livestock emissions

Summary

​A publication database and collection was constructed from publically available literature reporting the effects of dietary mitigation on methane emissions.  The data collection contained 782 sources from the international peer reviewed literature.  The literature was subdivided into a number of individual collections – for example 'in vivo' and 'in vitro' literature, by species (sheep, cattle) and by technique.  A meta-analysis was conducted on a proportion of the in vitro data collection identifying key factors affecting the overall usefulness of the analysis.  For instance, there was a lack of consensus in the international literature concerning in vitro techniques, incubation parameters, reporting of fermentation and gas parameters.  A recommendation for collaborative research to be undertaken to standardize methods and evaluation protocols (in a similar fashion to current work on meta-genomics) was made.​