## 3 Results and Discussion
### Offsetting Environmental Impacts: CO\({}_{2}\) Emissions
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline
**Type of CO\({}_{2}\) Emission** & **Type of Impact** & **Value** \\ \hline Direct Emission & Negative & +1.54 tCO\({}_{2}\) eq/ha \\ \hline Indirect Emission & Negative & +0.93 tCO\({}_{2}\) eq/ha \\ \hline Total Emissions & Negative & +2.47 tCO\({}_{2}\) eq/ha \\ \hline Emissions Captured/Absorbed & Positive & \(-6.26\) tCO\({}_{2}\) eq/ha \\ \hline Net Emissions Vine Crop & Positive & \(-3.785\) tCO\({}_{2}\) eq/ha \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 5: CO\({}_{2}\) equivalent emissions associated with vine cultivation according to [PERSON] et al. [17]. This value of \(-\)3.785 tCO\({}_{2}\) eq/ha will be used as mitigation for the production of natural aggregates produced in the gravel pit. The net CO\({}_{2}\) emission balance for the production of 1 ton of NCA in the gravel pit will then be as follows:  
\[\text{(Balance CO${}_{2}$ $|$ }_{\text{Natural Aggregates})Net}=\text{CO${}_{2}$ $|$ }_{\text{Vine cultivation + CO${}_{2}$ $|$ Natural Aggregates Production}}\]  
\[\text{(Balance CO${}_{2}$ $|$ }_{\text{Natural Aggregates})Net}=-3.785\text{ tCO${}_{2}$ eq + 4.303$\cdot$10^{-3}$ tCO${}_{2}$ eq =$-3.7807\text{ tCO${}_{2}$ eq}$}.\]  
The interpretation of this result implies that in the impact category Global Warming Potential, the production of 1 ton of NCA with the condition of cultivation of 1 ha vines implies a removal of carbon from the atmosphere of 3780.7 kg CO\({}_{2}\). A very promising measure to mitigate the environmental impacts of producing natural aggregates. Then, the next question to ask is how much of the NCA produced in a gravel pit will be free of CO\({}_{2}\) equivalent emissions for an area of 1 ha of vineyard. This is a simple calculation because if the amount of CO\({}_{2}\) that 1 ha of vineyard is capable of sequestering is known, as well as the amount emitted to produce the NCA, then the following result is obtained as follows:  
\[\text{NCA amount free of CO${}_{2}$ per 1 ha}=\frac{\text{Capture CO${}_{2}$ per 1 ha}}{\text{Emission of CO${}_{2}$ per 1 ton of NCA}}\]  
\[\text{NCA amount free of CO${}_{2}$ per 1 ha}=\frac{3785\frac{\text{kg of CO${}_{2}$ eq}}{\text{ha}}}{4303\frac{\text{kg of CO${}_{2}$ eq}}{\text{of NCA}}}=879.6\text{ t of NCA}\]  
The answer is that 879.60 tons of aggregates can be produced without CO\({}_{2}\) emissions. This great result is a measure to be adopted by those companies that carry out the activity of producing natural aggregates in areas where the cultivation of vines is possible due to their conditions, such as the Autonomous Community of La Rioja in Spain, and this can be extrapolated to other territories in Spain or internationally such as Italy and France. By proposing a scenario of annual production of NCA generated in gravel pits and estimating the annual production of NCA that can fit within the limits of the production system proposed in this research (Figure 1), a total of 2259 Mt NCA is proposed on the basis of ANEFA data. Knowing the CO\({}_{2}\) equivalent emissions obtained from the environmental assessment in this research, which are 4.30 kg CO\({}_{2}\) per ton of NCA, would result in a value of 9.721 ktCO\({}_{2}\) eq emitted into the atmosphere. Following the strategy of mitigating CO\({}_{2}\) emissions through vine cultivation, a total of 2568.4 ha of vine cultivation would be needed for the production of NCA obtained in gravel pits in Spain to be carbon footprint free. According to the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the area under vine in the Autonomous Community of La Rioja is 47,245 ha [14]. As a result, only 5.44% of the total vineyard area in the Autonomous Community of La Rioja would be devoted to mitigating CO\({}_{2}\) emissions generated in the production of NCA in gravel pits. Finally, and assuming that the data on the environmental benefits of vine cultivation applied to this research refer to the Autonomous Community of La Rioja, a preliminary scenario is proposed for the national territory of Spain.