Development of guide lines for the calculation of carbon footprint of peaches and apricots produced in Metapontino area (Basilicata): the project IQuaSoPO

The present study is conducted in the framework of the project IQuaSoPO. financed by the regional funds for rural development of Basilicata Region (Italy). It is a three year project which aims to transfer good sustainable practices to local fruit producers. One of the main expected results of the project is to develop guidelines for the calculation of carbon footprint of peaches and apricots, in a life cycle perspective, referred to the productive and geographical specificities of Metapontino area. These guidelines will be used by the local producer to easily assess and communicate the environmental sustainability of their products, which, in this way, will gain added value on the market. Three experimental fields for the production of peaches and apricots in the area of Metaponto are involved in the transfer of knowledge process, about carbon management and water management sustainable practices, which can influence the entity of GHG emissions, by favouring the accumulation of important amounts of carbon and nitrogen in soil and in the perennial parts of peach tree (trunks, branches, roots). Examples of these sustainable management practices are: reduced tillage, soil grass cover, recycling of pruned materials within the field, deficit controlled irrigation, use of compost. In the framework of this study, the three pilot sites are used for inventory data collection, calculation of the carbon footprint, and development of the guidelines. The whole life cycle of the orchards is considered from the tree nursery stage (one or two years), through the establishment, the young, mature and decay stages, and the final destruction, for an average of 15 years. All the agricultural operations have been included in the accounting, in terms of energy consumption and machinery utilization: soil tillage, thinning, pruning, mulching, harvesting, fertilization, plant protection, irrigation, harvesting. Moreover, the life cycle of all the constituent materials of the orchard’s plant and cover structure has been considered (steel wire, cement and aluminum poles, cement blocks, irrigation pipes and water distribution final devices), as well as all the productive inputs’ life cycle (pests and fertilizers). Not just the production phase of the nitrogen fertilizers has been considered, but also the N2O emissions derived from their use. Two different functional units have been used: one kg of peaches/apricot produced and one hectare of cultivated field. The most innovative part of the present study consists in the integration of GHG fluxes occurring within soil-tree-atmosphere system, into the carbon footprint assessment: our aim is to estimate the soil carbon content change, in the considered time boundaries of the study (medium term perspective), related to soil respiration, plant growing, green and brown pruning decomposition, organic compost utilization, cover crop, through sampling activities at field, and using formulas from literature and different models recently emerging in the international scientific community. The guidelines for the carbon footprint calculation along the peach and apricots productive chain in Metapontino region are developed in accordance to the recently published standard ISO 14067; an innovative label for c-footprint communication could be introduced in order to improve the competitiveness of this products on national and international markets.