Alternative, animal-friendly housing systems with deep bedding are increasingly under pressure and negatively viewed due to high ammonia and nitrous oxide emissions. Another alternative to fully slatted pens is the animal-friendly system of sloping floor housing, which uses significantly less straw bedding than deep-litter systems and separates the dunging and lying areas.

There are currently no internationally available research results for this housing system, which was optimized in terms of process engineering at the BAL Gumpenstein. However, these are urgently needed, as the sloping floor barn offers a very promising way to reconcile animal welfare and environmental protection.

On a selected farm, this livestock farming system will be investigated with regard to emissions of ecosystem-relevant gases (ammonia) and climate-relevant emissions (methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide) using the mobile measurement technology of the Institute of Agricultural, Environmental and Energy Technology at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna. The measurement results are expected to yield new emission factors for this system, which can then be incorporated into national and international advisory documents or guidelines.