Orchards and vineyards are important land use types in Southern Europe. In spite of their potential to sequester atmospheric C and to mitigate climate change, relatively little is known regarding the influx and outflux of C in these systems. The aim of this work is to provide data on the C budget, including net primary production (NPP), C removal through production, and C sequestration potential for the vine-yards and the main fruit tree species (apple, citrus, olive, and peach) grown in Italy. Standing biomass and NPP were measured, and net ecosystem exchange and net C balance assessed directly, through ei-ther eddy covariance technique, or considering NPP and heterotrophic respiration. Aboveground NPP ranged between 10 and 20 t ha-1 while, when directly assessed, belowground NPP was less than 20% of the total NPP. The C leaving the system through fruit production ranged between 2 and 3 t ha-1. Mature fruit tree ecosystems had positive net ecosystem productivity (ranging from 4.30 in Apple-2 to 7.5 in Grape-1.) and net ecosystem carbon balance (ranging from 0.6 to 5.9 t C ha-1 y-1), indicating the potential of these systems to store C.
A survey of carbon sequestration potential of orchards and vineyards in Italy
PALESE, Assunta Maria;CELANO, Giuseppe;
2016-01-01
Abstract
Orchards and vineyards are important land use types in Southern Europe. In spite of their potential to sequester atmospheric C and to mitigate climate change, relatively little is known regarding the influx and outflux of C in these systems. The aim of this work is to provide data on the C budget, including net primary production (NPP), C removal through production, and C sequestration potential for the vine-yards and the main fruit tree species (apple, citrus, olive, and peach) grown in Italy. Standing biomass and NPP were measured, and net ecosystem exchange and net C balance assessed directly, through ei-ther eddy covariance technique, or considering NPP and heterotrophic respiration. Aboveground NPP ranged between 10 and 20 t ha-1 while, when directly assessed, belowground NPP was less than 20% of the total NPP. The C leaving the system through fruit production ranged between 2 and 3 t ha-1. Mature fruit tree ecosystems had positive net ecosystem productivity (ranging from 4.30 in Apple-2 to 7.5 in Grape-1.) and net ecosystem carbon balance (ranging from 0.6 to 5.9 t C ha-1 y-1), indicating the potential of these systems to store C.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
