Estimation of annual total livestock/poultry excrement in Henan Province

Based on statistical data and various related parameters, annual total excrement from main livestock/poultry in Henan Province was evaluated for 2008. The study shows that gross livestock/poultry excrement in 2008 comprises of 18 329.5×10⁴ tons of feces and 9 790.8×10⁴ tons of urine. The total livestock/poultry excrement contains 169.84×10⁴ tons N, 96.33×10⁴ tons P, and 142.93×10⁴ tons K. Among the main livestock/poultry (e.g., pig, cattle, sheep, rabbit and chicken), pigs excrete the highest amount of feces, accounting for 39.5% of the total excrement. This is followed by cattle, accounting for 27.0% of the total excrement. 83.4% of the livestock/poultry urine is also produced by pigs, followed by cattle (11.6%). The highest amount of livestock/poultry excrement comes from Zhumadian City, followed by Nanyang City, Zhoukou City, Shangqiu City and Kaifeng City. Excrement from these five cities accounts for almost half of total livestock/poultry excrement in Henan Province. Average excretion load of croplands is 40.79 t·hm^-2, which is much higher than the 4.19 t·hm^-2 national average. This finding suggests that rural environments of Henan Province are confronted with severe pollution and ecological risks.