Carbon footprint in deciduous agroecosystems

Abstract

The agricultural sector has a high energy demand and consequently emits 17-32% of global
greenhouse gas emissions. Predominant forms of energy used in agriculture are fossil fuel,
fertilizers and electric energy. The carbon footprint (CF) is an efficient indicator to quantify the
emissions generated and to identify the productive stages with greater contribution. The objective
of this work was to determine the carbon footprint and to identify the cultural practices with
greater emission in an organic apple production orchard. Direct emissions were analyzed and
cultural work was classified according to the time of the year. Direct emissions were 1647.41
kg.CO2eq/ha, of which 77% corresponded to the cultural work performed during the spring-
-summer season. The CF value was 0.072 kg CO2eq/Kg apple. These results are the first recorded
values for the apple production area of Rio Negro Upper Valley, Patagonia, Argentina