Carbon Footprint of agricultural production and processing of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) in southern Brazil

• Published in: Environmental technology & innovation Vol. 18; p. 100625
• Main Authors: Boettcher, Ricardo, Zappe, Ana Letícia, Oliveira, Priscila Fernandes de, Machado, Ênio Leandro, Lawisch-Rodriguez, Adriane de Assis, Rodriguez-Lopez, Diosnel Antonio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.05.2020
• Subjects: Carbon Footprint; Greenhouse gas; Life cycle assessment; Tobacco production; Life cycle assessment; Carbon Footprint; Greenhouse gas; Tobacco production
• ISSN: 2352-1864; 2352-1864
• DOI: 10.1016/j.eti.2020.100625

One of the main agricultural crops in Brazil is the tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) production, currently the second largest producer of this commodity of the world. Its production extends across the three southern states of the country and accounts for important interactions with the environment. Thus, the study of the relationship between tobacco cultivation and the environment should be evaluated in order to reduce its impacts. This study uses a life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the Carbon Footprint (CF) of Virginia (VA) and Burley (BU) tobacco varieties produced in southern Brazil, using the dataset of 14,409 tobacco farmers. The LCA results showed that the use of nitrogen fertilizer in the crop stages of both the tobacco varieties is the main contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The CF was 1398.5 kg CO2-eq/ton of dry VA tobacco, compared to the 1829.7 kg CO2-eq/ton of dry BU tobacco. The seedling and industrial processing stages of both tobacco varieties account for less than 13% of the overall CF. •Carbon Footprint of tobacco production in Southern Brazil was performed.•Data used correspond to 12,000 tobacco growers.•CF of Virginia and Burley varieties account for 1398.5 and 1829.7 kg CO2-eq respectively.•Most of the GHG emissions derived from the cropping stages, derived from direct and indirect emissions.•Nitrogen fertilizer is one of the most important contributors for CF. [Display omitted]