Carbon Sequestration Archives

2025 Ecuador

Renewable Energies and Biochar: A Green Alternative for Reducing Carbon Footprints Using Tree Species from the Southern Andean Region of Ecuador

Authors: Cobos-Torres, J.-C.; Idrovo-Ortiz, L.-H.; Cobos-Mora, S.L.; Santillan, V

The urgent need for sustainable strategies to mitigate climate change has spurred the development of efficient carbon sequestration methods with minimal greenhouse gas emissions, presenting promising opportunities to produce biochar and, with this bioproduct, enhance crop productivity. Therefore, this research aimed to evaluate the carbon footprint produced by the low-temperature slow pyrolysis of biomass obtained from the pruning residues of four tree species present in parks and gardens of the

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2025 Peru

Avocado production in different biomes throughout Peru: do differing cultivation practices translate into differences in environmental impacts?

Authors: Elorrieta-Mendoza, Alvaro,; Sanchez-Matos, Joan; Bentín, Jorge; Debrock, Sébastien; Mathot, Claire; Stelian, Louis; Soengas, Beatriz; Kahhat, Ramzy; Vázquez-Rowe, Ian

PURPOSE: Avocado production in Peru takes place in different biomes and under different agricultural systems (e.g., conventional, organic, or agroforestry). Therefore, it is important to understand differences in the environmental profile of avocado production within the diversity of these cultivation systems. Hence, the main objective of the study was to conduct a cradle-to-gate attributional Life Cycle Assessment of avocado production in Peru by small and medium-sized producers, under multiple scenarios to provide insights for enhancing environmental performance and including a sensitivity and uncertainty analysis. METHODS: Primary data were collected from 80 small and medium-sized producers (i.e., 355 ha) for the year 2023 to build the life cycle inventory, which was supported by the ecoinvent database. SimaPro was used to integrate inventory flows and assessment methods. The latter include a range of methods, such as IPCC 2021 to estimate GHG emissions, and AWARE to calculate water scarcity impacts, for which Peruvian-specific characterization factors (CFs) were incorporated. Biodiversity impacts were evaluated through the LUIS biodiversity footprint for land-use intensity and the product biodiversity footprint to identify broader biodiversity loss drivers. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The results demonstrate differences in environmental impacts between regions, based on type of production system, variety of avocado, altitude or ecological region, especially in terms of consumptive water use (i.e., scarcity) and biodiversity impacts. Water scarcity values ranged from 1.2 to 764 m³eq/kg depending on regionalized CFs. Biodiversity assessment methods suggest that avocado cultivation poses greater risks to the Amazon rainforest and the Andean Highlands compared to the coastal desert. Regarding GHG emissions, results ranged from 156 to 728 g CO₂eq/kg depending on the variety, within a middle range for fruits and vegetables as compared to the global literature. Agroforestry systems showed lower impacts compared to monoculture systems, particularly thanks to carbon sequestration. CONCLUSIONS: and recommendations. For both water scarcity and biodiversity, results have shown to be highly site-specific, and spatial resolution is needed for decision-making on a case-to-case basis. GW impacts also showed relevant variability, especially when comparing agroforestry systems in the Amazon basin, where GHG emissions were considerably low thanks to enhanced carbon capture, with other production systems across the country. In any case, GHG emissions were found to be in the lower range as compared to previous avocado studies in scientific literature. Optimizing fertilizer use and adopting efficient irrigation methods, while improving irrigation measurements, were identified as key strategies to reduce environmental burdens across all systems.

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2024 Ethiopia

Homestead agroforestry for stabilizing food, economic and ecoclimatic nexus

Authors: Mokria, Mulugeta; Hagazi, Niguse; Hadgu, Kiros Meles; Said, Hadia; Abiyu, Abrham; Hailemariam, Gebrehiwot; Bräuning, Achim; Gebrekirstos, Aster

Promoting homestead agroforestry is widely recognized as an effective and holistic approach to food production and sustainable land use, offering numerous environmental, economic, and social benefits. This research aims to quantify the food, economic, and environmental advantages of avocado-based homestead agroforestry systems in Ethiopia. The study collected socio-economic, biophysical, and fruit yield data from selected households (HH) and their respective trial plots. Results indicated that

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2024 South Africa

Life Cycle Assessment of an Avocado: Grown in South Africa-Enjoyed in Europe

Authors: Blaauw, Sheldon A.; Broekman, André; Maina, James W.; Steyn, Wynand J. v. d. M.; Haddad, William A.

"Food production is known to have significant environmental impacts, with the main contributors residing in the farming and transportation life cycle phases. Of the various food products transported around the world, avocados have increasingly gained attention as a high-commodity superfood. Avocados require specific climatic and agricultural conditions for farming, with the most fertile land and conditions located outside Europe. Consequently, most avocados consumed in Europe are imported over vast geographical distances, with little information available to quantify the environmental impacts of this imported superfood. This paper aims to present the most detailed life cycle assessment results of an avocado cultivated, grown and harvested in the Limpopo Province of South Africa and exported to the European market for sale and consumption. A life cycle assessment was developed for the farming, harvesting, handling, packaging, ripening, transportation, and carbon sequestration potential of the avocado, and it was used to conduct a holistic life cycle assessment. Input data was obtained through an 18-month data collection campaign across the relevant stakeholders. A baseline 'business-as-usual' scenario is focused on throughout this study, and scope for optimisation is identified for each life cycle phase where applicable, accompanied by uncertainty analyses. Results show a total carbon input of 904.85 kg CO₂e/tonne. Mitigating this, 521.88 kg CO₂e/tonne is offset, resulting in a net carbon footprint of 382.97 kg CO₂e/tonne with uncertainty ranges of −23.22 to +58.69 kg CO₂e/tonne, normalised to 57.45 g CO₂e/avocado grown in South Africa and sold in Europe. The environmental impacts of the avocado industry under consideration are largely mitigated by the ""nature first"" philosophy of the farming and logistics enterprises, which have made significant investments in reducing emissions. Sensitivity analyses indicate that implementing large-scale renewable energy, using alternative packaging instead of cardboard, and selling avocados unripened could further enable the farming enterprise to achieve Net Zero objectives. These measures could reduce baseline emissions from 382.97 kg CO₂e/tonne to a theoretical −68.54 kg CO₂e/tonne, representing a 117.9% decrease. Although this study does not quantify climate change impacts, qualitative analyses suggest that climate change will have a net negative effect on the avocado industry in South Africa. These regions, typically located in micro-climates, are projected to become wetter and warmer, adversely affecting crop phenology, pest control, road conditions, management complexity, farmer livelihoods, and food security. The study recommends large-scale implementation of the optimisation strategies identified to achieve Net Zero objectives and the development of proactive climate change mitigation strategies to enhance the resilience of avocado supply chains to future stressors. These insights are crucial for policymakers, industry stakeholders, and consumers aiming to promote sustainability in the avocado market."

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2018 USA

Carbon Removal in Forests and Farms in the United States

Authors: Mulligan, J.; Ellison, G.; Gasper, R.; Rudee, A.

The purpose of this working paper is to explore the potential for carbon removal in forests and farms in the United States, to identify needs likely to arise on the pathway to large-scale deployment, and to consider ways to begin addressing those needs. This working paper is part of a World Resources Institute (WRI) publication series CarbonShot: Creating Options for Carbon Removal at Scale in the United States. The series presents findings from a WRI-led assessment of needs for scaling candidate

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2008 Mexico

Carbon content in vegetation, litter, and soil under 10 different land-use and land-cover classes in the Central Highlands of Michoacan, Mexico

Authors: Ordonez, J.A.B; de Jong, B.H.J; Garcia-Oliva, F.; Avina, F.L.; Perez, J.V.; Guerrero, G.; Martinez, R.; Masera, O.

In this study we estimated the carbon content in vegetation, litter, and soil, under 10 different classes of land-use and land-cover classes (LU/LC) in the Purepecha Region, located in the Central Highlands of Mexico. Forests in this area are representative of the montane forests of Central and Southern Mexico and are subject to rapid degradation and deforestation by human pressure. Carbon data for each of the LU/LC classes and the main pools (vegetation, soil and litter) were collected at 92 sites

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