1. Carbon footprint mitigation in Mediterranean agriculture: Case studies from vines and aromatic plant farms in Cyprus
Vassilis Litskas, Antonios Chrysargyris, Nikolaos Tzortzakis and Menelaos Stavrinides
Cyprus University of Technology,
Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science

2. Climatico 2019, Litskas et al.
GHG emissions
The EU's agricultural sector accounts for 10 % of the EU's total GHG emissions (Eurostat 2015 data; 426,5 Mt of CO2 equivalent).
Like all production sectors there is a need to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions to achieve the targets set out in policies (i.e. EU roadmap to 2050) and global agreements (i.e. UN Paris agreement).
Like all production sectors there is a need to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions to achieve the targets set out in policies (i.e. EU roadmap to 2050) and global agreements (i.e. UN Paris agreement).

3. Factors contributing to emissions
Climatico 2019, Litskas et al.
Factors contributing to emissions
Cultivation practices
tillage,
irrigation,
fertilization,
pest management.
Soil processes
Organic matter decomposition,
N2O soil emissions due to the application of synthetic fertilizers.
Vineyard in Cyprus
Rose farm in Cyprus

4. Product Carbon Footprint (PCF)
Climatico 2019, Litskas et al.
Product Carbon Footprint (PCF)
PCF is the total set of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by a product expressed as carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-equiv.).
The preferred methodology for PCF quantification is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and emission factors (or models).

5. Vineyards and Medicinal & Aromatic Plants (MAPs)
Climatico 2019, Litskas et al.
Vineyards and Medicinal & Aromatic Plants (MAPs)
Vineyards / wine
- 3 million ha of vineyards in the EU.
- PCF for wine: 1.85 kg CO2-equiv./bottle (0.75L).
- Viticulture contributes about 30% to the PCF for wine.
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs)
ha of farms in EU (France ha; Spain ha; Germany 5700 ha).
- No data for the PCF.

6. Grape varieties used for PCF determination
Climatico 2019, Litskas et al.
Grape varieties used for PCF determination
Xynisteri: Indigenous grape variety used for the production of white wine and (after mixing with Mavro) for the sweet desert wine Commandaria (Protected Designation of Origin).
Cabernet Sauvignon: The most popular red winemaking variety in the world, covering 290,000 ha, or 6.3% of the global area devoted to vineyards (Anderson and Aryal, 2014).
Thompson seedless (soultanina): Mainly used for production of table grapes.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Xynisteri
Thompson seedless

7. MAP species used for PCF determination
Climatico 2019, Litskas et al.
MAP species used for PCF determination
Spearmint (Mentha spicata),
oregano (Oreganum vulgare),
rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) and
Damask rose (Rosa damascena).
Mentha spicata
Rosmarinus officinalis
Oreganum vulgare
Rosa damascena

8. Climatico 2019, Litskas et al.
Aims of the research
Identify carbon emissions and pin-point GHG emission hotspots for:
3 grape varieties
Xynisteri,
Cabernet Sauvignon,
Thomson seedless.
4 MAP species
- Spearmint
- Oregano
- Rosemary
- Damask rose

9. Climatico 2019, Litskas et al.
METHODS

10. Climatico 2019, Litskas et al.
Data collection
Ninety (90) vineyards, 30 for each variety were selected in the Districts of Limassol and Paphos.
Fifty (50) MAPs farms: 12 spearmint (6 organic vs. 6 conventional), 16 Damask rose (8 organic vs. 8 conventional), 12 oregano (6 organic vs. 6 conventional) and 10 rosemary (5 organic vs. 5 conventional).
A questionnaire was designed based on the LCA approach (ISO, 2006) to interview the farmers and gather the data required for the PCF calculations.
Agricultural professionals (agronomists, winemakers) were also consulted to validate the data collected from farmers.

11. Vineyard locations Climatico 2019, Litskas et al.
Xynistreri (light blue), Cabernet Sauvignon (red) and Soultanina (blue).

12. MAPs locations Climatico 2019, Litskas et al.
Location of the MAP farms in Cyprus (up) and Damask rose farms that are in the area of Agros (down). SP, R, OR, DR stand for spearmint, rosemary, oregano, and Damask rose respectively; O and C stand for Organic and Conventional, respectively (e.g. SPO stands for spearmint organic).

13. Software for PCF determination
Climatico 2019, Litskas et al.
Software for PCF determination
The methodology presented in the Cool Farm Tool ( was used to calculate GHG emissions and carbon balance.

14. Climatico 2019, Litskas et al.
Factors for PCF
Fertilizers (GHG emissions from the production and distribution of fertilizers),
N2O, NO and NH3 gas emissions (N transformation processes in soils),
Pesticides production,
Crop residue management,

15. Climatico 2019, Litskas et al.
Factors for PCF
Carbon stock changes in the soil after organic matter amendments and degradation,
Field energy use for irrigation, pruning, tillage, pesticide and fertilizer application and manure transportation, and
Off-farm transport (transportation to the winery/market and annual trips of farmers to the farms).

16. Climatico 2019, Litskas et al.
Results

17. PCF per kg of grapes a
F=14.61;
df=2,87
P<0.05

18. emissions hot-spots Xynisteri C. Sauvignon Thomson seedless
Climatico 2019, Litskas et al.
Xynisteri
C. Sauvignon
emissions hot-spots
Thomson seedless

19. Climatico 2019, Litskas et al.

20. Climatico 2019, Litskas et al.
+++
Olives from Cyprus (Litskas et al. data to be submitted for publication)
PCF Organic = 1.2
PCF Conventional = 2.7

21. Climatico 2019, Litskas et al.
Conclusions
The PCF for Thompson seedless and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes was higher than that for Xynisteri.
The PCF was higher in the Damask Rose farms, in comparison to the other species. Differences were observed between organic and conventional but not for all species.
Fertilizers, soil N2O production and field energy use were the carbon hot spots for grapes and MAPs.

22. Climatico 2019, Litskas et al.
Conclusions
Reducing synthetic fertilizers, tillage frequency and irrigation could be the way to reduce the PCF and increase carbon storage in the soil.
MAPs and indigenous grapes have the potential to be “low PCF products”

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