Spatial data on greenhouse gas emissions from crop and livestock systems
The crop and livestock sectors play a central role in food systems and in the livelihoods of around one billion people, and thus is the subject of plenty of interventions looking at increasing food supply and improving those livelihoods. Traditionally, most efforts have focused on increasing productivity per animal and/or per hectare and a range of technological options, now part of what we call ’sustainable intensification’ have come to dominate the research for development agenda. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognize that in the pursuit of food security and further increases in food production, planetary boundaries have to be respected, making sustainability science targets a central part of the development agenda. However, little, if any, attention is placed on the environmental impact of these interventions. This increases the risk of unforeseen negative environmental consequences that could affect vulnerable people in the same region and across the globe.
Project Overview
The dataset developed by Herrero et al. (2013), is a unique, biologically consistent, spatially disaggregated global livestock dataset containing information on biomass use, production, feed efficiency (see figure), 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:
1
Feed efficiency as a key driver of productivity, resource use, and greenhouse gas emission intensities, with vast differences between production systems and animal products.
2
The importance of grasslands as a global resource, supplying almost 50% of biomass for animals while continuing to be at the epicenter of land conversion processes.
3
The importance of mixed crop–livestock systems, producing the greater part of animal production (over 60%) in both the developed and the developing world.
This data provides critical information for developing targeted, sustainable solutions for the livestock sector and its widely ranging contribution to the global food system.
As good decisions rely on good data, we are updating this dataset in a way that would be open, continuously updatable and consistent with our current understanding of the livestock sector, including developments on productions systems, livestock species, and using state-of-the-art data collection, processing and management techniques.
Project Team
Professor; Cornell Atkinson Scholar; Nancy and Peter Meinig Family Investigator in the Life Sciences
Department of Global Development
- mario.herrero [at] cornell.edu
Research Associate
Department of Global Development
- cmg295 [at] cornell.edu
Postdoctoral Associate, Food Systems and Global Change
Department of Global Development
- fmb59 [at] cornell.edu