A Study on the Factors Affecting Greenhouses Emissions in Cotton in Greece

Abstract

While cotton cultivation is considered as the main cash crop for Greece, cultivation practices and their environmental-friendly level are the focus of recent research. Research is examined the main sources for greenhouses gases in cotton cultivation. Until now, crop cultivation stimulates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions only from soil. For this reason, main sources are found to be agricultural practices such as irrigation and fertilization. It is imperative to be estimated sources of greenhouses emission in cotton cultivation for the territory of Greece. The present study takes into account all the factors related to the cotton cultivation, from the fertilizers production to energy consumption for all cultivation techniques such as tillage. The data were calculated using Cool farm tool software. In order for the data to be representative and verifiable, the average of all the fields is referred in the study. The analysis of the emissions concerned all the fields where cotton is grown in a remarkable area. The total CO2e emissions coming from an average value of 117.32 ha are 43.11 k kg. The main source of emissions are the fuels used for all processes in the field such as harvesting, cultivator, irrigation, etc. Many factors significantly affected the GHG emissions from cotton field in Greece. Although water supply and N fertilizer are the main source for emissions only from soil, there are many factors to exanimated in order to minimize adverse effects of climate change.