TY - JOUR TI - Biomass use, production, feed efficiencies, and greenhouse gas emissions from global livestock systems AU - Herrero, Mario AU - Havlík, Petr AU - Valin, Hugo AU - Notenbaert, An AU - Rufino, Mariana C. AU - Thornton, Philip K. AU - Blümmel, Michael AU - Weiss, Franz AU - Grace, Delia AU - Obersteiner, Michael T2 - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America AB - We present a unique, biologically consistent, spatially disaggregated global livestock dataset containing information on biomass use, production, feed efficiency, excretion, and greenhouse gas emissions for 28 regions, 8 livestock production systems, 4 animal species (cattle, small ruminants, pigs, and poultry), and 3 livestock products (milk, meat, and eggs). The dataset contains over 50 new global maps containing high-resolution information for understanding the multiple roles (biophysical, economic, social) that livestock can play in different parts of the world. The dataset highlights: (i) feed efficiency as a key driver of productivity, resource use, and greenhouse gas emission intensities, with vast differences between production systems and animal products; (ii) the importance of grasslands as a global resource, supplying almost 50% of biomass for animals while continuing to be at the epicentre of land conversion processes; and (iii) the importance of mixed crop-livestock systems, producing the greater part of animal production (over 60%) in both the developed and the developing world. These data provide critical information for developing targeted, sustainable solutions for the livestock sector and its widely ranging contribution to the global food system. DA - 2013/// PY - 2013 DO - 10.1073/pnas.1308149110 VL - 110 IS - 52 SP - 20888 EP - 20893 SN - 00278424 KW - GHG emissions KW - Global change KW - Land use KW - Sustainability ER -