Climate change implications of sheep farming systems extensification

The evaluation of trade-offs between agri-food production and ecosystem services and the mitigation of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions are among the main research priorities of the EU Scientific Research Agenda (Notarnicola, 2017). Regarding these themes, Mediterranean sheep farming systems can represent interesting case studies because of their recognized multifunctionality and key role in climate change mitigation strategies of livestock supply chains (Marino et al., 2016). The aim of this work was to evaluate the environmental effects of the transition from a semi-intensive (SI) to a semi-extensive (SE) management system in a dairy sheep farm, using a LCA approach. The study particularly focused on the influence of soil C sequestration (Cseq) and the role of different functional units (FU) on Global Warming Potential (GWP) performances.