Is Agriculture Always a GHG Emitter? A Combination of Eddy Covariance and Life Cycle Assessment Approaches to Calculate C Intake and Uptake in a Kiwifruit Orchard
| Autor: | Nicola Di Virgilio, Teodoro Georgiadis, M. Nardino, Federica Rossi, Camilla Chieco |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Irrigation
Geography Planning and Development Eddy covariance TJ807-830 010501 environmental sciences Management Monitoring Policy and Law Atmospheric sciences TD194-195 Actinidia deliciosa 01 natural sciences Renewable energy sources mitigation life cycle assessment GE1-350 Life-cycle assessment 0105 earth and related environmental sciences efficiency ratio carbon balance Environmental effects of industries and plants Renewable Energy Sustainability and the Environment emissions 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences Vegetation Environmental sciences Greenhouse gas 040103 agronomy & agriculture 0401 agriculture forestry and fisheries Environmental science irrigated agriculture Orchard Sink (computing) Cropping |
| Zdroj: | Sustainability, Vol 13, Iss 6906, p 6906 (2021) Sustainability Volume 13 Issue 12 |
| ISSN: | 2071-1050 |
| Popis: | While a substantial reduction of GHG (greenhouse gases) is urged, large-scale mitigation implies a detailed and holistic knowledge on the role of specific cropping systems, including the effect of management choices and local factors on the final balance between emissions and removals, this last typical of cropping systems. Here, a conventionally managed irrigated kiwifruit orchard has been studied to assess its greenhouse gases emissions and removals to determine its potential action as a C sink or, alternately, as a C source. The paper integrates two independent approaches. Biological CO2 fluxes have been monitored during 2012 using the micrometeorological Eddy covariance technique, while life cycle assessment quantified emissions derived from the energy and material used. In a climatic-standard year, total GHG emitted as consequence of the management were 4.25 t CO2-eq−1 ha−1 yr−1 while the net uptake measured during the active vegetation phase was as high as 4.9 t CO2 ha−1 yr−1. This led to a positive contribution of the crop to CO2 absorption, with a 1.15 efficiency ratio (sink-source factor defined as t CO2 stored/t CO2 emitted). The mitigating activity, however, completely reversed under extremely unfavorable climatic conditions, such as those recorded in 2003, when the efficiency ratio became 0.91, demonstrating that the occurrence of hotter and drier conditions are able to compromise the capability of Actinidia to offset the GHG emissions, also under appropriate irrigation. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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