Greenhouse gases emissions from selected crops growing within organic farming

Abstract

As part of the study, growing of selected crops (strawberries, garlic, carrot) in conventional and organic farming systems in the Czech Republic was evaluated. For evaluation, the simplified LCA analysis was used. It is focused on the production of greenhouse gases expressed in the carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) per one unit of production. Emissions were calculated for agricultural phases – agricultural technology, fertilizers, pesticides and field emissions – using the IPCC methodology. There are evident differences in subprocesses and in the total emission load between conventional and organic farming systems. With strawberry growing, the GHG emission production is higher within the organic farming system due to low yields. With carrot and garlic growing, the organic farming system is more environmental friendly in terms of GHG emissions.

Keywords: organic farming, GHG emissions, plant production, LCA