Analysis of the Horizontal Distribution of Sampling Points for Gas Concentrations Monitoring in an Open-Sided Dairy Barn

Abstract

In the livestock sector, the monitoring of gas concentrations plays a relevant role in the implementation of mitigation strategies, as well as the improvement in the indoor air quality for both workers and animals in barns. In the present study, measurements of gas concentrations (NH3, CH4, and CO2) at different locations were carried out in an open dairy barn using a commercial photo-acoustic spectroscopy system. Measurement variability for different datasets was computed to contribute to the evaluation of the sampling strategy in the measurement campaign. The results showed that the position of sampling locations (SLs) significantly influenced (p 3 (p 2 (p 4 (p 3 concentrations obtained as the mean value of the gas measurements at two SLs with a 10 m distance had a lower variability compared to those recorded at two SLs located at 5 m.

Keywords

• sampling locations
• sampling strategies
• number of repetitions
• gas concentrations
• variability
• gas distribution