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

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The livestock sector is considered a source of negative impacts on the environment. The measurement of gas concentrations inside dairy barns has a relevant role in the implementation of reduction strategies as well as in improving the indoor air quality for both workers and animals in the barn. The aim of this research study was to contribute to assessing the methodological choices in measurement campaigns of pollutant gases in open dairy barns. Based on the assessment of data variability, the location and the number of sampling points influenced the measurement of the gas in an open 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 (NH(3), CH(4), and CO(2)) 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 < 0.001) the variability in the gas distribution. Specifically, the SLs located on the perimeter of the building had the highest variability. The number of SLs utilised for determining the mean value of gas concentration in the barn had a significant influence on NH(3) (p < 0.001), CO(2) (p < 0.001), and CH(4) (p < 0.001) in both the central zone and the perimeter one. At least three SLs were necessary to obtain a mean value of gas concentration that reduced the variability to under the 10% in the central zone and 16% in the perimeter one. Moreover, the NH(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.