How does the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change count nitrous oxide from cattle and buffalo dung and urine dropped on grazing land, and why is the factor higher than for goats and sheep?

Table 11.1 gives 0.02 kilograms (kg) of nitrous oxide nitrogen per kg of nitrogen for cattle, buffalo, poultry and pigs on pasture, and 0.01 for sheep and other animals. Reasons for the lower sheep factor include more even urine distribution (smaller, more frequent urinations) and smaller soil compaction effects.

The factor and the sum

• Equation 11.1 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2006 Guidelines, Volume 4, adds a term for urine and dung nitrogen deposited by grazing animals: nitrogen deposited by cattle, poultry and pigs x 0.02, plus nitrogen deposited by sheep and other animals x 0.01.
• Table 11.1 prints 0.02 with a range of 0.007 to 0.06, and 0.01 with a range of 0.003 to 0.03.
• The cattle group in the table is dairy, non-dairy and buffalo.
• Nitrogen deposited = head count x nitrogen excreted per head x the share of manure left on pasture, range and paddock.

Why sheep and other animals get half

The guide cites a review of urine and dung deposition that found the factor for sheep lower than for cattle. Reasons for the lower sheep factor include more even urine distribution (smaller and more frequent urinations) and smaller effects on soil compaction during grazing. The guide says there are no or very limited data for other animal types, so poultry and pigs stay at 2%. It says 1% may be used for 'other animals' because their excretion is likely closer to sheep.

The table has no goat line, but the guide's note says 'other animals' includes goats, horses, mules, donkeys, camels, reindeer and camelids, because their excretion is likely closer to sheep than to cattle. It says 1% may be used for them.

What belongs in this line and what does not

• Manure left where it falls is counted here under managed soils, not under manure management.
• Manure carried to a field and spread is a separate input in the same equation, with the general factor of 0.01 for nitrogen additions to soil (0.003 on flooded rice).
• Ammonia lost from dung and urine on pasture is an indirect line, using 0.20 as the share volatilised, under the guide's Table 11.3.

How much manure is on pasture

For an Indian dairy cow the 2006 defaults put 27% of manure on pasture, range or paddock (Table 10A-4). Use your own share if you know it.

100 dairy cows with the default 27% on pasture

• Nitrogen excreted: 100 x 47.18 = 4,718 kg a year (see the nitrogen answer linked below)
• On pasture: 4,718 x 0.27 = 1,274 kg nitrogen
• Direct nitrous oxide nitrogen: 1,274 x 0.02 = 25.5 kg x 44/28 = 40.0 kg nitrous oxide (N2O)
• In carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e): 40.0 x 273 = about 10,900 kg
• The same nitrogen at the sheep and other animals factor of 0.01 would be about 5,460 kg CO2e

Herd size is an example value. 273 is the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) 100-year warming potential for N2O. The 0.01 line is shown only to size the effect of the factor, not as an option for cattle.

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills into emission records, so diesel for tractors and pumps and power for the milking shed and chilling tank show up once uploaded. The herd, manure and field figures on this page come from your own farm records.

• Nitrogen excreted per cow and buffalo
• Nitrous oxide from manure storage
• Goat and sheep enteric methane

Sources: IPCC 2006 Guidelines, Volume 4, Chapter 11, Equation 11.1, Table 11.1 and notes; Chapter 10 Annex 10A.2 Table 10A-4, IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, Working Group I, Chapter 7, Table 7.15 (100-year global warming potential: methane of non-fossil origin 27.0, nitrous oxide 273)

Last reviewed 2026-11-05. Factors are 2006 Tier 1 defaults. The pasture share is a regional default; use your own grazing records where you keep them.