IMPROVED MICROCLIMATE TECHNIQUES FOR MONITORING TRACE GAS EMISSIONS OF ANIMAL WASTE

Waste products are a valuable resource as a fertilizer and are suitable to be applied to crops and pastures. However, when concentrated into a relatively small geographical area or applied in excessive amounts, waste can have detrimental environmental effects. Little is known concerning atmospheric emissions of animal waste in the Mediterranean area and few studies can be found in the literature. Aim of this study is to develop non invasive methodologies to measure NH3, CH4, CO2, and N2O emissions/absorptions under different environmental conditions to allow to correlate these emissions with application amount and soil, plant, and waste characteristics.