Carbon sink effect of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) ) growing in Extremadura

Tobacco ( Nicotiana tabacum L.) . ) growing has a great socio-economic importance in the region of Extremadura. N. tabacum plants capture atmospheric carbon dioxide through photosynthesis, and the objective of this study is to establish the net carbon balance of this agricultural activity. This study was carried out in the north of Extremadura (Jara & iacute;z de la Vera, Cuacos de Yuste and Talayuela), with the varieties PVH 2310, C241, C152 and TH 241. In this work, the compositional carbon of the different parts of the plant (leaves, stem and roots) has been determined, and together with the biomass produced throughout its cycle, the amount of atmospheric CO2 2 fixed has been determined. At the same time, greenhouse gas emissions from the field phase (crop) was calculated, which was subtracted from the amount of CO2 2 fixed per functional unit, obtaining the net carbon balance. With the usual crop management practices of the 2023 season, the production of 1 kg of fresh tobacco has an average positive balance of 0.6198 kg CO 2 , and expressed per unit of surface area, 1 ha of tobacco crop provides an average positive balance of 11,852.13 kg CO 2 ha-1 . Taking into account the conditions of this study, it can be concluded that the activity represented by tobacco leaf production in Extremadura is a positive carbon sink, fixing a higher amount of atmospheric CO 2 than it emits.