Livestock Farming and Methane: Emission and Mitigation approaches: A review

Ruminants, through ongoing ruminal methane emissions, substantially contribute to environmental pollution and global warming. Methane (CH4) is 23 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide (CO2) and is presently the second largest contributor to global warming. The rumen of ruminants is the primary site for methanogenesis. In environments without oxygen, microbes in the rumen break down food and produce gases like carbon dioxide (CO?) and methane (CH?), which are expelled when the animal burps, while substances like acetate, propionate, and butyrate provide energy. Improving accurate and dependable ways to measure methane is important for understanding how animal care, nutrition, and management affect methane emissions and for finding effective ways to reduce them. Methane emissions can be reduced through various methods, such as choosing specific animal breeds, using feed additives like fats, essential oils, and plant compounds, applying methane blockers, incorporating algae, and changing diets. This review aims to present an overview of ruminant methane production, several methodologies for quantifying its emissions, and strategies for reducing bovine methane emissions.