USE OF BIOCHAR AS NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT

IN CATTLE

Re-cycling of biomass nutrients and carbon

for advanced organic fertilization in an
ecosmart and climate positive agriculture on
Cuba (Bio-C)

Dariel Morales-Querol
Pastures and Forages Research Station Indio Hatuey
 CONTENT
- Current
Current status
status of
of GHG
GHG emissions
emissions due
due to
to animal
animal
husbandry.
husbandry.
-- Main
Main GHG
GHG produced
produced by
by livestock.
livestock.
-- Production
Production of
of methane
methane in
in the
the rumen.
rumen.
-- Problem.
Problem.
-- Strategies
Strategies for
for reducing
reducing methane
methane emissions
emissions from
from
livestock.
livestock.
-- Use
Use of
of biochar
biochar in
in animal
animal feeding.
feeding.
-- Impacts
Impacts of
of biochar
biochar as
as animal
animal feed.
feed.
-- Final
Final considerations.
considerations.
 General contex
One
One of
of the
the biggest
biggest problems
problems at
at aa global
global level
level is
is
climate
climate change.
change.

The
The chain
chain of
of disturbances
disturbances linked
linked toto climate
climate
change
change affects
affects diverse
diverse ecosystems
ecosystems due due to to the
the
disorders
disorders generated
generated by by climate
climate variability
variability or
or the
the
occurrence
occurrence of of extreme
extreme eventsevents such such as as
desertification
desertification processes,
processes, changes
changes in in soil
soil
moisture,
moisture, seasea level
level rise,
rise, melting
melting of of glaciers,
glaciers, and
and
floods.
floods.
It
It is
is essential
essential to
to take
take global
global measures
measures in in the
the face
face
of
of climate
climate change,
change, andand local
local measures
measures for for
microclimate
microclimate changes,
changes, all all aimed
aimed at at the
the
mitigation
mitigation andand adaptation
adaptation to to new
new scenarios.
scenarios.

In
In the
the great
great effort
effort toto contribute
contribute to
to the
the
minimization
minimization ofof GHGs,
GHGs, it it is
is necessary
necessary to
to
establish
establish action
action strategies
strategies to to reduce
reduce gas
gas
emissions
emissions (especially
(especially in
in the
the animal
animal husbandry
husbandry
sector).
sector).
 General contex
World animal husbandry is recognized as a sector that contributes to
the emission of GHG, particularly carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane
(CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O).
Methane production in the rumen

"Animal scientists
need to be aware
of this issue"
 Problem
What possible mitigation
alternatives can be formulated
according to the GHG
estimation associated with the
enteric fermentation processes
and the use of biochar as feed
supplement in systems for meat
V. Sejian et al. 2013
Use of biochar in animal feeding

Charcoal has been used to treat

digestive disorder in animals for
several thousand years.

In the late 19th century and late 20th

century, charcoal was increasingly
used on a regular basis to increase
animal performance and health.

During the last century, research

focused on tests with activated
charcoal, mainly in the form of drugs
against intoxication and bacteriological
and viral diseases.

Only since 2010, biochar has

increasingly been used as regular feed
additive in animal farming:(O’Toole
cattle,et al. 2016; Schmidt et al. 201
 Impacts of biochar as
animal feed- Increase in egg production and
- Toxin adsorption
- Digestion quality in poultry
- Blood values - Strengthening the immune
- Cell numbers in milk system
- Livestock weight gain - Improvement of meat quality
- Increase in feed intake - Improvement of stable hygiene
- Increased feed efficiency and odor
- Could prevent acidosis which is
known to impact livestock weight
gain

However, only a small number of researchers

measured GHG emissions.
(Gerlach and Schmidt, 2012; Schmidt et al. (20
 Final
considerations
The use of biochar as feed has the
potential to improve animal health,
feed efficiency and stable climate,
reduce nutrient loss and greenhouse
gas emissions.

In combination with other good

practices, biochar could improve the
sustainability of animal husbandry.

The use of biochar in feeding

ruminants to reduce methane
emissions is currently only an
interesting perspective that needs
more systematic research.
«'Those sciences are vain
and full of errors which are
not born from experiment,
the mother of all
certainty.»
Leonardo da
Vinci.