Estimation of carbon stock and emissions from BAT plantations and Tobacco Barns in 2013 in Arua District

Abstract

The tobacco industry is associated with deforestation, land degradation, and desertification, including soil erosion, biodiversity loss, reduced soil fertility and productivity as well as social disruption, disruption of the water cycle, and carbon stocks into the atmosphere. It also involves both carbon storage and absorption and emission approaches during leaf growing, production and transport. Apart from FCV, several methods are being employed for curing tobacco such as sun drying, air drying, fire drying, fluidized systems, and gasification with common materials such as firewood and other alternatives among others in the underdeveloped worlds. Carbon stored in the tree was estimated using a single volume algometric equation through the forest inventory data and specific wood density of the eucalyptus as well as biomass and carbon conversion factors. Through a mass balance approach (MBA) at the tobacco barns, emitted carbon dioxide was estimated using IPCC’s Tier1 equations with the use of oxidation and carbon content factors. It was clear carbon stock above-ground C increased significantly with age and no significant change in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions during the FCV tobacco curing while the moisture content was controlled at 30%, where 9 kg of fuel wood cured 1 kg of dry tobacco. The tobacco company plants and harvests and estimated 100 ha annually with an estimated biomass stock of 36,323.92 Kg/ha, and C absorbed in the 100ha is estimated to 2,194 tons of C, which translated to 8,043 tons CO2e sequestered annually in the region. The mean Carbon emission per ton of fuel wood consumed is 2kg and emission at each barn curing is 0.018 Kg from the 9 kg of wood used. Tobacco Company required 3,623,392kg of wood annually to cure tobacco. Hence the annual C emission during burning of 3,623,392 kg is estimated at 7,264.8 tons of carbon (26,588 tons CO2e) with an estimated 402,599 Kg of tobacco cured. This study recommends use of Eucalyptus camaldulensis as renewable energy source as its fast growth increases on the carbon sequestration rate and the possibilities for self-sufficiency that can reduce the greenhouse gases emissions as well as use of the fuelwood-tobacco model to help tobacco companies estimate their fuelwood requirement for curing tobacco at FCV. It also recommends an extended seasoning time to reduce the moisture content in the wood carbon dioxide emissions during FCV curing and requires to plant about 360ha annually to neutralize emissions.