Carbon sequestration potential of mango orchards in the tropical hot and humid climate of Konkan region, India

Abstract

Cultivated grafted mangoes are not the same as polyembryonic seedling-based wild mangoes in terms of biomass production and carbon sequestration. We estimated the carbon sequestration potential of mangoes in Konkan region, which is a prime mango belt of India producing the popular Alphonso mangoes. Allometric equation developed for grafted mangoes was used to estimate tree biomass. Konkan mango belt spread over 106,210 ha sequesters 9.913 mt of carbon. However, the carbon sequestration potential of these cultivated grafted mangoes is very low compared to polyembryonic seedling-grown mangoes in the wild. Since mangoes in the Konkan region have mostly occupied degraded lands of lateritic origin, such regions have been brought under productive mango orchards. As a consequence where forests have disappeared and mangoes have occupied the region, the carbon sequestered by them is a bonus apart from the production of mangoes. The administrators in these regions must use this information for claiming carbon credits for the benefit of farmers and the local population.