Characteristics and mechanisms of methane emissions from slurry lagoons in concentrated animal feeding operations in North China during autumn and winter

ZHANG Hao-rui; XU Hua-sheng; ZHANG Zhuo-yi; TIAN Yan-feng; LI Xin; LIN Li-hong; WANG Yue; ZHU Zhi-ping

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China Environmental Science ›› 2026, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (3) : 1605-1616.

Characteristics and mechanisms of methane emissions from slurry lagoons in concentrated animal feeding operations in North China during autumn and winter

ZHANG Hao-rui¹, XU Hua-sheng¹, ZHANG Zhuo-yi², TIAN Yan-feng³, LI Xin¹, LIN Li-hong¹, WANG Yue¹, ZHU Zhi-ping¹

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Abstract

CH₄ emission fluxes from five animal slurry lagoons in North China were quantified using the dynamic chamber method between October and November 2024. Meteorological conditions, water quality parameters, and microbial data were collected to identify key drivers and explore underlying mechanisms. Methane emission fluxes from the five lagoons ranged from 4.3 to 99.8g/(m²·d). The second-stage lagoon at the Miyun pig farm (MY_L2) exhibited significantly lower emissions, which was attributed to extensive organic matter degradation in the on-farm deep-pit system and the preceding black-film biogas digester. Methane emission fluxes showed a strong positive correlation with acetic acid concentration (r=0.74, P<0.01) and a strong negative correlation with pH (r=-0.70, P<0.01). The diurnal (24h) variation in CH₄ emission flux was significantly positively correlated with air temperature (r=0.83, P<0.05). The abundance of the methanogenic marker gene mcrA in the lagoons (1.9×10⁷ to 4.4×10⁸copies/mL) was substantially higher than that of the methanotrophic marker gene pmoA (4.9×10⁴ to 5.1×10⁶copies/mL), indicating a high CH₄ emission potential under open-air storage conditions. Among the five slurry lagoons, three were dominated by the acetoclastic methanogenic archaea, Methanosarcina and Methanosaeta. These lagoons were also enriched with acetogenic bacteria as well as hydrolytic and fermentative bacteria that degrade complex organic matter, thereby providing essential substrates for acetoclastic methanogenesis. In contrast, the lagoon with the highest CH₄ emissions was dominated by the hydrogenotrophic methanogen Methanobrevibacter and was enriched with acetate-consuming bacteria, which may creat competitive inhibition of acetoclastic methanogens. The remaining lagoon exhibited a balanced coexistence of acetoclastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogens, potentially facilitated by Clostridium species capable of concurrently supplying acetate and H₂/CO₂. Shifts in the community structure of acetoclastic methanogens (P<0.05) and overall bacterial communities (P<0.01) across the lagoons significantly influenced the CH₄ emissions. To effectively mitigate CH₄ emissions, strategies should encompass not only front-end manure management (e.g., in-house manure removal practices and solid-liquid separation), but also the development of technologies to regulate lagoon pH or reducing acetic acid (acetate) concentrations.

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methane / lagoon / slurry storage / on-site monitoring / methanogens

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ZHANG Hao-rui, XU Hua-sheng, ZHANG Zhuo-yi, TIAN Yan-feng, LI Xin, LIN Li-hong, WANG Yue, ZHU Zhi-ping. Characteristics and mechanisms of methane emissions from slurry lagoons in concentrated animal feeding operations in North China during autumn and winter[J]. China Environmental Science. 2026, 46(3): 1605-1616

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