Ammonia and Greenhouse Gases Emission from Slurry Storage with impermeable Cover and Landspreading of Cattle Slurry

Intensive farm systems handle large volume of livestock wastes, resulting in adverse environmental effects, such as gaseous losses into the atmosphere in form of ammonia (NH3) and greenhouse gases (GHG), i.e. methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O). In this study, the manure management continuum of slurry storage with impermeable cover and following cattle slurry band spreading and incorporation to soil was assessed for NH3 and GHG emissions. The experiment was conducted in an outdoor covered storage (flexible bag system) (study I), which collected the slurry produced in 7 dairy cattle farms (2,000 m3 slurry) during 12 days in the northern Spain.

Comparison of micrometeorological techinques for estimating ammonia emission from covered slurry storage and land spreading of cattle slurry

The micrometeorological mass-balance integrated horizontal flux (IHF) technique has been commonly employed for measuring ammonia (NH3) emissions inon-field experiments. However, the inverse-dispersion modeling technique, such as the backward Lagrangian stochastic (bLS) modeling approach, is currently highlighted as offering flexibility in plot design and requiring a minimum number of samplers (Ro et al., 2013). The objective of this study was to make a comparison between the bLS technique with the IHF technique for estimating NH3 emission from flexible bag storage and following landspreading of dairy cattle slurry. Moreover, considering that NH3 emission in storage could have been non uniform, the effect on bLS estimates of a single point and multiple downwind concentration measurements was tested, as proposed by Sanz et al. (2010).

A short critical history of the application of genomics to animal breeding

Two scientific schools have been in coexistence from the beginning of genetics, one of them searching for factors of inheritance and the other one applying biometrical models to study the relationships between relatives. With the development of molecular genetics, the possibilities of detecting genes having a noticeable effect in traits augmented. Some genes with large or medium effects were localized in animals, although the most common result was to detect markers linked to these genes, allowing the possibility of assisting selection programs with markers. When a large amount of simple and inexpensive markers were available, the SNPs, new possibilities were opened since they did not need the presence of genes of large or medium effect controlling a trait, because the whole genome was scanned. Using a large amount of SNPs permits having a prediction of the breeding value at birth accurate enough to be used in some cases, like dairy cattle, to halve its generation interval. In other animal breeding programs, the implementation of genomic selection is less clear and the way in which it can be useful should be carefully studied. The need for large populations for associating phenotypic data and markers, plus the need for repeating the process continuously, complicates its application in some cases. The implementation of the information provided by the SNPs in current genetic programs has led to the development of complex statistical tools, joining the efforts of the two schools, factorial and biometrical, that nowadays work closely related.

Conexi��n con la meseta desde el Ebro medio de las v��as romanas como base de la malla territorial de Espa��a

No tenemos conocimiento de ninguna red de caminos prerromanos que sirvieran como base de una posible malla territorial de Espa��a. Sin embargo, una sociedad prerromana sin caminos, por muy fragmentada y aislada que fuera, es algo improbable y mucho menos en la Edad del Hierro. Por eso en ��poca prerromana exist��an infinidad de caminos, muchos de los cuales hoy han desaparecido y otros han sobrevivido, casi siempre con sus recorridos mejorados. Los pueblos prerromanos aprovecharon v��as naturales de comunicaci��n (r��os, vados, valles, puertos naturales, llanuras, etc.) para tender sus caminos. En sus or��genes no siguieron pautas concretas, si no que los caminos se originaban por el tr��nsito (de personas, ganados, mercanc��as, etc.) de un lugar a otro. De este modo la red viaria prerromana era ca��tica y an��rquica: todo camino ten��a numerosos ramales y variantes, seg��n las necesidades. Pendientes excesivas, anchuras variables, etc., en decir eran v��as espont��neas, surgidas sin ninguna planificaci��n aparente. Los recorridos en general eran cortos, aunque algunas investigaciones actuales est��n demostrando que algunas de las ca��adas ganaderas m��s importantes, como la Galiana, y de largo recorrido, eran de origen prerromano. En el caso de la pen��nsula Ib��rica, y m��s concretamente en el caso de la Meseta, el territorio estaba fragmentado en diversos pueblos y tribus, agrupados seg��n criterios ��tnicos y culturales y con contactos con los pueblos pr��ximos que motivan la preponderancia de caminos de recorrido cortos. Solo la necesidad de llevar los reba��os (de cabras y ovejas sobre todo) desde las serran��as en verano a las llanuras en invierno, motivar��a viajes m��s largos en los que algunas ca��adas ganaderas jugar��an un papel m��s importante. Con la llegada de los romanaos, se implant�� en Hispania una densa red viaria, cuya construcci��n se prolong�� durante toda la dominaci��n romana, siendo reparadas muchas calzadas y v��as en varias ocasiones. En ��poca romana la red caminera era variada y estaba constituida por ���las calzadas��� que comunicaban puntos importantes, eran muy transitadas, de ah�� que la administraci��n romana las mantuviera siempre en buen estado, para asegurar el intercambio comercial entre zonas distintas, cobro de impuestos, etc. ���Los caminos de tierra (viae terrenae)��� que adem��s de las calzadas, que podemos asemejar a las actuales carreteras de primer y segundo orden, constitu��an la infinidad de caminos locales y comarcales. Los trazados se realizaron unos en ��poca romana, y otros muchos apoy��ndose en los caminos de la ��poca prerromana, ��stas v��as no se realizaban buscando el recorrido m��s corto entre dos puntos, ni tampoco el m��s c��modo y con un firme estructural de menor importancia que en las calzadas. Tampoco estaban hechos para un tipo concreto de transporte, por lo que nos encontrar��amos algunos que por su anchura permit��an el paso de carros, y otros que s��lo permitir��an el paso a pie, a caballo o en burro. Sol��an ser, como hemos indicado, caminos de tierra con acabados en zahorras y recorridos en su mayor parte cortos y medianos. Dentro de la malla territorial de Espa��a las calzadas constituir��an las denominadas ���viae publicae��� que constitu��an la red principal y esqueleto vertebrador de Hispania. Los caminos de tierra constituir��an los denominados ���actus��� caminos de car��cter regional que configuraban la mayor parte de la red. Muchas de las ���viae publicae��� y de los ���actus��� tendr��an su origen en las ���viae militares��� que habr��an sido los primeros construidos, apoy��ndose en muchas ocasiones en los caminos prerromanos, por los romanos para realizar la conquista de Hispania y que luego con la Paz romana habr��an tenido otro tipo de uso. Dentro de estas ���viae militares��� tuvieron una importancia relevancia aquellas que se utilizaron en la conquista de la Celtiberia, culminada con la ca��da de Numantia. Dentro de ellas tuvo una importancia fundamental la v��a romana del r��o Alhama, objeto de esta Tesis, que facilitar��a el desplazamiento de los ej��rcitos romanos desde Graccurris, primera ciudad romana fundada en el Ebro medio, hasta Numantia. Desde la ��poca Augusta, la v��a romana del r��o Alhama, pasar��a a formar parte de los denominados ���actus��� formando parte de la malla territorial de la Pen��nsula Ib��rica como v��a de comunicaci��n entre la Meseta y el Ebro Medio. We do not have knowledge of any network of ways prerromanos that were serving as base of a possible territorial mesh of Spain. Nevertheless, a company prerromana without ways, for very fragmented and isolated that was, is something improbable and great less in the Age of the Iron. Because of it in epoch prerromana existed infinity of ways, many of which today have disappeared and others have survived, almost always with his improved tours. The people prerromanos took advantage of natural routes of communication (rivers, fords, valleys, natural ports, plains, etc.) to stretch his ways. In his origins concrete guidelines did not continue, if not that the ways were originating for the traffic (of persons, cattle, goods, etc.) to and from. Thus the network viaria prerromana was chaotic and anarchic: all way had numerous branches and variants, according to the needs. Excessive slopes, variable widths, etc., in saying were spontaneous routes arisen without no apparent planning. The tours in general were short, though some current investigations are demonstrating that some of the most important cattle glens, as the Galiana, and of crossed length, were of origin prerromano. In case of the Iberian Peninsula, and more concretely in case of the Plateau, the territory was fragmented in diverse peoples and tribes, grouped according to ethnic and cultural criteria and with contacts with the near peoples that motivate the prevalence of short ways of tour. Only the need to take the flocks (of goats and sheeps especially) from the mountainous countries in summer to the plains in winter, would motivate longer trips in which some cattle glens would play a more important paper. With the arrival of the romanos, a dense network was implanted in Roman Spain viaria, whose construction extended during the whole Roman domination, being repaired many causeways and routes in several occasions. In Roman epoch the pertaining to roads network was changed and constituted by " the causeways " that were communicating important points, they were very travelled, of there that the Roman administration was supporting always in good condition, to assure the commercial exchange between different zones, collection of taxes, etc. "The dirt tracks (viae terrenae)" that besides the causeways, which we can make alike to the current roads of the first and second order, were constituting the infinity of local and regional ways. The tracings were realized some in Roman epoch, and great others resting on the ways of the epoch prerromana, these routes were not realized looking for the most short tour neither between points, two nor neither most comfortable and with a structural road surface of minor importance that in the causeways. They were not also done for a concrete type of transport, for what some of us would think that for his width they were allowing the step of cars, and others that only would allow the step afoot, astride or in donkey. They were in the habit of being, since we have indicated, dirt tracks with ended in zahorras and tours in his most short and medium. Inside the territorial mesh of Spain the causeways would constitute the called ones "viae publicae" that constituted the principal network and skeleton vertebrador of Roman Spain. The dirt tracks would constitute the "actus��� called ways of regional character that were forming most of the network. Many of "viae publicae" and of the "actus" they would have his origin in " viae military" that would have been the first ones constructed, resting on many occasions on the ways prerromanos, for the Romans to realize the conquest of Roman Spain and that then with the Roman Peace they would have had another type of use. Inside these "viae military" had an importance relevancy those that were in use in the conquest of the Celtiberia, reached with Numantia's fall. Inside them a fundamental importance had the Roman route of the river Alhama, object of this Thesis, which would facilitate the displacement of the Roman armies from Graccurris, the first Roman city been founded on the average Ebro, up to Numantia. From the August epoch, the Roman route of the river Alhama, would happen to form a part of the "actus��� forming a part of the territorial mesh of the Iberian Peninsula as road link between the Plateau and the Average Ebro.