Journal Articles

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7915

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Start date: 2021Subject: search.filters.subject.Environment

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Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
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    Greenhouse gas mitigation in pasture-based dairy production systems in New Zealand: A review of mitigation options and their interactions
    (Elsevier B.V., 2025-08) Kalehe Kankanamge E; Ramilan T; Tozer PR; de Klein C; Romera A; Pieralli S
    Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from dairy farming is crucial for mitigating climate change and enhancing the environmental credentials of New Zealand's dairy exports. This paper aims to explore potential GHG mitigation measures and their interactive effects when combined within New Zealand context, emphasising the practicality of these combinations, particularly focusing on recent studies of pasture-based dairy systems. The review assesses various mitigation options across animal, manure management, feed-based, soil-related, and system-related interventions and identifies immediately applicable mitigation options based on specific criteria. It also discusses the implementation costs, implications on emissions, and the combined effects of these options when applied as bundles in pasture-based systems using a combination matrix. It is indicated that mitigation options on New Zealand's dairy farms can yield diverse outcomes and costs based on farming characteristics. By analysing different combinations of short-listed, it was found that although most mitigation options are compatible, some may have a lower overall reduction potential because of interaction effects. Integrating lower N fertiliser use, low-emission feed, and reduced stocking rates with high-performing animals provides a practical approach for GHG reductions and potential cost savings. However, implementing compatible mitigation bundles requires better quantification of their interactions, economic viability, and compatibility with existing farming systems which need further research.
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    Analysis of current equine feeding practices in the Netherlands and identification of potential nutrient leaching and environmental contamination factors.
    (Elsevier B.V., 2024-06-01) Karasu GK; Rogers CW
    The aim of this study was to estimate the potential for nutrient leaching based on current feeding practices of horses in the Netherlands. An online survey of horse owners collected data on the demographics of the horses (n = 274) and feeding practices. The median age was 8 years, the majority being warmblood and geldings with a mean bodyweight of 542.4 ± 101.9 kg. Most horses (85 %) had access to a limited area of pasture (<200m2 per horse), with a median grazing time of 10 hours. Grass hay was the predominant conserved forage offered (77 %) within diets. Concentrate feeds were provided to most horses (93.8 %) as well as the dietary supplements (80 %). The majority of the horses were offered high levels of metabolizable energy (ME) (90 %), starch (mean 2.4 ± 0.8 g/kg bw) and sugar intake (mean 1.4 ± 1.2 g/kg bw) compared to NRC recommendations. The estimated potential nitrogen excretion per horse per day was 228 ± 134 g, or 8.47 kg of nitrogen per ton of manure. Consequently, the estimated daily fecal excretion rates of microminerals for each horse were as follows: Copper (Cu) at 141.0 ± 151.3 mg, Zinc (Zn) at 593.1 ± 504.4 mg, Manganese (Mn) at 957 ± 541.2 mg, and Cobalt (Co) at 2.3 ± 3.5 mg. The analysis indicated that many equine diets in the Netherlands offered excess ME, CP and the minerals Cu, Zn, Mn and Co. To mitigate these concerns, it is crucial to promote sustainable feeding practices and better educate horse owners.
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    Dietary Transitions Toward Sustainable Horse Feeding.
    (Elsevier B.V., 2023-07-07) Karasu GK; Rogers CW; Gee EK
    Sustainability is the balancing act of optimizing the use of current resources without compromising the current or future environment. Within the agriculture sector the primary focus of sustainability has been to reduce environmental pollution, specifically greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions, nitrogen emissions, and leaching. For the equine industry the first step towards sustainability is the documentation and critique of current feeding and management practices to permit modifications to enable the industry meet social and legislative obligations. As a monogastric hindgut fermenter on a per kg bodyweight basis the horse has relatively lower GHG emissions compared to ruminants. However, there are several opportunities to further reduce the environmental impact of the equine industry. The majority of these relate to subtle changes, or consideration of, improving feed conversion, using alternative ingredients, and management of fecal material associated with intensive husbandry. To initiate the journey towards sustainability this review documents opportunities with current equine feeding and management practices to reduce the environmental impacts of the equine industry.
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    Steps towards operationalizing One Health approaches.
    (Elsevier B.V., 2024-04-27) Pepin KM; Carlisle K; Anderson D; Baker MG; Chipman RB; Benschop J; French NP; Greenhalgh S; McDougall S; Muellner P; Murphy E; O'Neale DRJ; Plank MJ; Hayman DTS
    One Health recognizes the health of humans, agriculture, wildlife, and the environment are interrelated. The concept has been embraced by international health and environmental authorities such as WHO, WOAH, FAO, and UNEP, but One Health approaches have been more practiced by researchers than national or international authorities. To identify priorities for operationalizing One Health beyond research contexts, we conducted 41 semi-structured interviews with professionals across One Health sectors (public health, environment, agriculture, wildlife) and institutional contexts, who focus on national-scale and international applications. We identify important challenges, solutions, and priorities for delivering the One Health agenda through government action. Participants said One Health has made progress with motivating stakeholders to attempt One Health approaches, but achieving implementation needs more guidance (action plans for how to leverage or change current government infrastructure to accommodate cross-sector policy and strategic mission planning) and facilitation (behavioral change, dedicated personnel, new training model).
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    Green space and stroke: A scoping review of the evidence.
    (Elsevier B.V, 2024-02-15) Whyte M; Douwes J; Ranta A
    BACKGROUND: Global industrialisation and urbanisation has led to an increased interest in the link between the environment and health. Stroke is a major cause of morbidity and mortality, and there is increased evidence that environmental factors may affect both the incidence and severity of stroke. This review summarises the evidence for relationship between green space exposure and stroke incidence and outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a literature search in Medline and Scopus until 1 August 2023, and screened references of relevant articles. Selected articles were appraised for their relevance, and critically reviewed. The findings were thematically categorised. RESULTS: Of the 1342 papers identified, 27 were included. These involved a mix of study designs (cohort, cross-sectional, quasi-experimental, time stratified case crossover and ecological). There was consistent evidence indicating a protective association between green space exposure and disability and stroke-related death with mortality hazard ratios between 0.66 and 0.95. Most studies also showed that green space was inversely associated with stroke risk, with risk estimates from studies showing a protective effect ranging between 0.4 and 0.98; however, results were more mixed and some did not reach statistical significance. The moderating effects of green spaces on ambient temperatures, noise and air pollution, and psychosocial health plus greater enjoyment and opportunity for exercise and enrichment of the human microbiome may underly these associations. CONCLUSION: There is likely some protective effect of green space on stroke, with the benefits most convincingly shown for post-stroke outcomes. More research is recommended to confirm the protective association between green space exposure and reduced stroke risk.
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    Infection dynamics in ecosystems: on the interaction between red and grey squirrels, pox virus, pine martens and trees
    (The Royal Society Publishing, 2021-10) Roberts MG; Heesterbeek JAP
    Ecological and epidemiological processes and interactions influence each other, positively and negatively, directly and indirectly. The invasion potential of pathogens is influenced by the ecosystem context of their host species’ populations. This extends to the capacity of (multiple) host species to maintain their (common) pathogen and the way pathogen dynamics are influenced by changes in ecosystem composition. This paper exemplifies these interactions and consequences in a study of red and grey squirrel dynamics in the UK. Differences and changes in background habitat and trophic levels above and below the squirrel species lead to different dynamic behaviour in many subtle ways. The range of outcomes of the different interactions shows that one has to be careful when drawing conclusions about the mechanisms and processes involved in explaining observed phenomena concerning pathogens in their natural environment. The dynamic behaviour also shows that planning interventions, for example for conservation purposes, benefits from understanding the complexity of interactions beyond the particular pathogen and its threatened host species.
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    Non-linear models of species' responses to environmental and spatial gradients
    (John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2022-12) Anderson MJ; Walsh DCI; Sweatman WL; Punnett AJ
    Species' responses to broad-scale environmental or spatial gradients are typically unimodal. Current models of species' responses along gradients tend to be overly simplistic (e.g., linear, quadratic or Gaussian GLMs), or are suitably flexible (e.g., splines, GAMs) but lack direct ecologically interpretable parameters. We describe a parametric framework for species-environment non-linear modelling (‘senlm’). The framework has two components: (i) a non-linear parametric mathematical function to model the mean species response along a gradient that allows asymmetry, flattening/peakedness or bimodality; and (ii) a statistical error distribution tailored for ecological data types, allowing intrinsic mean–variance relationships and zero-inflation. We demonstrate the utility of this model framework, highlighting the flexibility of a range of possible mean functions and a broad range of potential error distributions, in analyses of fish species' abundances along a depth gradient, and how they change over time and at different latitudes.
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    Older People’s Neighborhood Perceptions Are Related to Social and Emotional Loneliness and Mediated by Social Network Type
    (Oxford University Press, 2022-10-19) Stephens C; Phillips H
    Background and Objectives Loneliness among older people is a public health issue; however, there is very weak support for the efficacy of individually focused interventions. A public health model, which includes the environmental influence on the formation of social networks and protection from loneliness, and theoretical approaches differentiating between social and emotional loneliness, suggest the importance of neighborhoods in preventing loneliness. This approach was used to test the influence of neighborhood factors on loneliness and the mediating role of social networks. Research Design and Methods A questionnaire survey of 917 people aged 60–100 years was conducted in one region of Aotearoa/New Zealand to assess loneliness, social network types, social participation, marital status, gender, health, and four aspects of neighborhood perceptions. Results Social and emotional loneliness scores were regressed on predicted demographic and social variables, followed by perceptions of Housing Satisfaction, Neighborhood Accessibility, Neighborhood Security, and Neighborhood Social Cohesion. Neighborhood variables added significant explanation of variance in both social and emotional loneliness. Mediation tests using PROCESS showed that the effects of all neighborhood variables were mediated by Private-Restricted or Locally Integrated Network types on Social Loneliness only. Discussion and Implications These findings highlight the importance of neighborhood factors in relation to feelings of loneliness and the recognition of social network types as mediators of these relationships for social loneliness. The aspects of neighborhoods that prevent loneliness provide directions for planners and prevention programs. Interventions to prevent social loneliness can usefully and practicably focus on the housing and neighborhood environment.