Carbon Footprint and Related Production Costs of Pot-in-Pot System Components for Red Maple Using Life Cycle Assessment

Abstract

Component input materials and activities of a model pot-in-pot (PIP) production system were analyzed using life cycle assessment methods. The impact of each component on global warming potential (GWP; kilograms of CO2-equivalent), or carbon footprint, and variable production costs was determined for a 5 cm caliper Acer rubrum L. ‘October Glory’ in a #25 container. Total greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) of inputs and processes at the nursery gate for a defined model system were 15.317 kg CO2e. Carbon sequestration weighted over a 100-year assessment period was estimated to be 4.575 kg CO2, yielding a nursery gate GWP of 10.742 kg CO2e. The major contridbutors to the GWP at the nursery gate were the substrate, production container, the 1.8 m (6 ft), branched, bare root liner, PIP system installation, and fertilization while the liner and production container also contributed significantly to the variable costs. Input materials and labor constituted about 76 and 21% of variable costs, respectively. Unlike field production systems, equipment use in PIP production accounted for only 13% of GHG emissions and 2% of variable costs.