DETERMINATION OF THE CARBON FOOTPRINT IN THE DRY COFFEE PARCHMENT PRODUCTION SYSTEM OF FOUR MUNICIPALITIES OF THE SOUTH OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HUILA

The determination of the carbon footprint (CF) was done in order to know the contributions of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) by the coffee production system, useful as indicator for decision-making in integrated management of the production of special coffees for the south of the department of Huila. The methodology was based on the Colombian Technical Standard NTC-5947, it consists in the estimation of the HC through of removals and emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) and their functional unit. For the removals, cubication was used as a measurement tool, generating nonlinear models based on chronological time and transforming them into carbon dioxide equivalent ([CO.sub.2eq]). Emissions were obtained by a characterization instrument applied to 505 coffee farms of sixteen associations in the study area. Allometric variables were measured to avoid subsequent destructive assessment. The results showed that the allometric variable of the stem diameter measured at 15 centimeters of the soil had the greatest adjustment to predict the biomass of the coffee plants. In addition, CF based on the removals was 11.94 kilograms of [CO.sub.2eq] c aptured per kilogram of dry parchment coffee (d.p.c) produced and the emissions of 2,17 kilograms of [CO.sub.2eq] emitted to the atmosphere per kilogram of produced d.p.c. The activities with the highest GHG emissions were nitrogen fertilization, transport and the consumption of fossil fuels. Keywords: Emissions; greenhouse gases; removals. La determinacion de la huella de carbono (HC) se realizo con el fin de conocer el aporte de Gases de Efecto Invernadero (GEI) por el sistema de produccion cafetera y que este sirva como indicador para la toma de decisiones en el manejo integral de la produccion de cafes especiales, para el sur del departamento del Huila. La metodologia se baso en la Norma Tecnica Colombiana NTC--5947 valorando la HC con base en las remociones y emisiones de GEI y su unidad funcional. Para las remociones se utilizo la cubicacion como herramienta de medicion, generando modelos no lineales con base en el tiempo cronologico y transformandolas a dioxido de carbono equivalente ([CO.sub.2eq]). Las emisiones se obtuvieron por medio de un instrumento de caracterizacion aplicado a 505 predios cafeteros de dieciseis asociaciones en la zona de estudio. Se midieron variables alometricas para evitar muestreos destructivos posteriores. Los resultados evidenciaron que la variable diametro del tallo medido a 15 centimetros del suelo