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Resource use and GHG emissions of eight tropical fruitspecies cultivated in Colombia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2013

Sophie Graefe ,
Jeimar Tapasco  and
Alonso Gonzalez
Sophie Graefe*
Affiliation:
Int. Cent. Trop. Agric. (CIAT), Recta Cali-Palmira km 17, Cali, Colombia Present address: Georg-August-Univ. Göttingen, Trop. Silvic. For. Ecol., Büsgenweg 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germ.. sgraefe@gwdg.de
Jeimar Tapasco
Affiliation:
Int. Cent. Trop. Agric. (CIAT), Recta Cali-Palmira km 17, Cali, Colombia
Alonso Gonzalez
Affiliation:
Int. Cent. Trop. Agric. (CIAT), Recta Cali-Palmira km 17, Cali, Colombia
*
* Correspondence and reprints
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Abstract

Introduction. The cultivationof high-value fruit species is a profitable agricultural activityin many tropical countries; however, intensive fruit cultivationmay depend on high amounts of external inputs. The objective ofour study was to quantify and compare the resource use during thecultivation of eight tropical fruit species (Rubus glaucus, Solanum quitoense, Passiflora edulis, Cyphomandra betacea, Physalis peruviana, Ananas comosus, Persea americana and Mangifera indica) commonly cultivated in Colombia.It further aimed to identify greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in theselected production systems and to highlight the potential to contributeto climate change mitigation efforts. Materials and methods. Theanalysis was based on data from agricultural databases and applieda life-cycle assessment with energy use and GHG emissions as impact categories.Furthermore, economic indicators were taken into account with theaim of integrating the environmental and economic goals of productionsystems. Results and discussion. Among the eight fruitspecies studied, mango (Mangifera indica) was foundto have the lowest and tree tomato (Cyphomandra betacea)the highest emission profile. The variability in resource use amonggrowers of the same species was high, indicating the need to improve managementabilities at the farm level. Mineral fertilizer production was the highestcontributor to GHG emissions. GHG- and energy-efficient managementalternatives would have a high potential to reduce the carbon footprint offruit cultivation.

Keywords

Colombiafruit cropstropical fruitscultivationgreenhouse gaseslife-cycle analysisenergy consumptionresource managementsustainable agricultureColombiePlante fruitièrefruits tropicauxpratique culturalegaz à effet de serreanalyse du cycle de vieconsommation d'énergiegestion des ressourcesagriculture durableColombiafrutalesfrutas tropicalescultivogases de efecto invernaderoanálisis del ciclo de duraciónconsumo de energíaordenación de recursosagricultura sostenible
Type
Original article
Information
Fruits , Volume 68 , Issue 4 , July 2013 , pp. 303 - 314
Copyright
© 2013 Cirad/EDP Sciences

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