Carbon Sequestration in Mango Orchards in Seasonally Dry Tropical Savanna Climate under Different Management

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study assessed the carbon (C) sequestration potential of 35-year-old mango orchards under different management. Potential C-sequestered was estimated in various C pools, viz., above-ground biomass (AGB), below-ground biomass (BGB), weed, litter, and soil organic carbon (SOC). Mango trees under conservation horticultural practices (CHP) had the highest values of AGB and BGB, 382.13 kilogram (kg) tree−1 and 115.25 kg tree−1, respectively, whereas AGB and BGB were lowest in mango trees with weed cover and intensive management (WCIM) (328.69 kg tree−1 and 99.13 kg tree−1, respectively) and intermediate in mango orchards with clean cultivation and intensive management (CCIM) (342.51 kg tree−1 and 112.26 kg tree−1, respectively). Mango orchards with CHP and WCIM expressively enhanced the soil C stock in the top 1 meter (m) of orchard soils. Compared to clean a cultivation vegetable field (CCVF), CHP and WCIM increased soil C sequestration by 15.2 tonnes per hectare (t ha−1) and 12.9 t ha−1, respectively. Soil C is the largest pool of C followed by AGB, BGB, and litter ≥ weed. Soil C had 2.54-, 2.75-, and 2.37-fold higher CCIM, WCIM, and CHP, respectively, than tree C. The highest total C content (107.63 t ha−1) was found in CHP, followed by WCIM (100.05 t ha−1), and the least was under CCIM (97.31 t ha−1), suggesting that mango orchards with CHP offer promising potential for total C sequestration. Averaged across the three different management systems, the highest potential for C storage was observed to be 101.7 t ha−1 for mango orchard, 1.68 fold higher than in vegetable systems.