A carbon sequestration strategy involving temperate fruit crops in the trans-Himalayan region

Abstract

SummaryA current major concern is increasing levels of atmospheric CO2 which may be responsible for global warming or climate change. Fruit tree orchards have received attention in recent years by virtue of their potential to act as carbon pools. The trans-Himalayan valley (i.e., the Nubra Valley) at an altitude of 3,048 m, is covered by > 60,000 temperate fruit trees. The focus of this paper is on the potential of these fruit-yielding trees as a means of carbon sequestration in the Nubra Valley. The valley produces approx. 4,650 metric tonnes (MT) of apricot, apple, walnut, mulberry, grape, and plum fruit. It was observed that the total biomass of the temperate fruit trees (i.e., apricot, apple, and walnut) in the area surveyed was 40,000 MT dry weight (DW). Thus, 22,300 MT of carbon has been sequestered by these fruit species. This study revealed that the cultivation of temperate fruit crops species such as apricot, apple, and walnut could be exploited more efficiently for carbon sequestration which subsequently helps in mitigating global CO2 levels and restoring degraded land in these cold, arid areas by improving soil organic carbon (SOC) contents. These results concluded, in part, that growing biomass to sequester carbon is a beneficial grow-and-store process for sustainable development.