Mitigation of global warming impact of fresh fruit production through climate smart management

The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of management practices on the global warming impact of some perennial fruit crops. The global warming potential (GWP) of single operations during a fresh fruit production under local conventional management (C mng ) and the mitigation potential of introducing sustainable management practices (S mng ) were assessed.A life cycle assessment analysis (ISO 14067) was performed for the whole life cycle of pilot apricot and peach orchards in Southern Italy (3 sites), taking into account greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions related to all annual agricultural operations, orchard establishment and removal. Results revealed that fertilization shared the highest fraction of GWP (from 22.4% to 60.5%) among all agricultural operations in both C mng and S mng scenarios. The adoption of S mng had a reduction of GWP ranging from 1% to 17%. When accounting for SOC change (modelled through Roth-C) after the S mng application and for recycling the permanent biomass of trees at the end-of-life of the orchard, the GWP can become negative ranging from approx. -0.8 to -4.2 kg CO2 eq. per ton of fruit.The estimated average mitigation potential of adopting S mng practices was -2.7 t CO2 eq. ha-1 yr-1, and derives mostly from soil carbon storage capacity.The adoption of S mng practices could be considered within GHGs mitigation policies for the agricultural sector, if assessed at landscape level. Composting, as a possible scenario for the disposal of the tree biomass at the end of the orchard life cycle, results to have a higher GWP impact than burning it for home heating purposes. However, the improvement of soil quality and of the related ecosystem services of using compost for agricultural purposes should promote the spread of composting practices and the multiplication of composting facilities in Southern Italy.