ISBN 978-3-8439-1040-8

978-3-8439-1040-8, Reihe Agrarwissenschaften

Omar Hijazi
Enviromental aspects of sheep farming in Syria

191 Seiten, Dissertation Humboldt-Universität Berlin (2013), Softcover, A5

Zusammenfassung / Abstract

Awassi sheep are bred for harsh living environments which are typical for arid zones like Syria. Increasing numbers of sheep lead to an overuse of the steppe. The aims of this study are: Analyzing the state of sheep keeping-systems and use of the steppe; Calculating the emissions of N2O will be conducted from the land used for feed cropping and emissions of CH4 from the enteric fermentation of sheep in the different keeping-systems; Comparing between the sheep keeping-systems and find out best management practices for sheep keeping and food cropping and finding possible strategies to reduce CH4 and N2O emissions of sheep. The study was developed using data derived from 64 farms in Syria, located in various regions that breed sheep using different keeping systems. The IPCC methodology was used to calculate the greenhouse emissions from the different keeping-systems. The results showed that a higher proportion of purchased feed reduces CH4 emissions, by the N2O emissions gets this positive effect lost again. The use of crop residues is a good option to reduce overgrazing of steppe. The extensive keeping-system used the steppe lower than the semi-intensive. To prevent overgrazing, the competent authority should encourage more farmers to purchase feed. The intensive keeping-system produced more greenhouse gas emissions than the two other keeping-systems and used no steppe. The comparison with the literature showed that the IPCC method may overestimate the CH4 emissions. This would be verified by further studies in the semi-arid zone.