Carbon Sequestration Potential of Mango Varieties Grown under High-Density Planting in Subtropical Region of Himachal Pradesh, India

Abstract

Fruit trees can contribute to climate-change mitigation by retaining carbon in long-lived biomass, although cultivar-level variation under high-density orchard systems remains insufficiently documented. This study evaluated the standing biomass carbon and carbon dioxide-equivalent storage of eleven ten-year-old grafted mango cultivars grown under uniform high-density planting at the College of Horticulture and Forestry, Neri, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh. Three representative trees per cultivar were assessed. Aboveground biomass was estimated non-destructively using an allometric equation developed for grafted mango trees. Belowground biomass was calculated using a root-to-shoot ratio of 0.29, total biomass was converted to carbon using a factor of 0.47, and carbon dioxide-equivalent storage was estimated using a factor of 3.67. Significant differences were observed among cultivars in aboveground biomass, belowground biomass, total biomass, carbon stock and carbon dioxide-equivalent storage. ‘Chausa’ recorded the highest aboveground biomass (80.06 kg tree⁻¹), belowground biomass (23.22 kg tree⁻¹), total biomass (103.28 kg tree⁻¹), biomass carbon stock (48.54 kg tree⁻¹) and estimated carbon dioxide-equivalent storage (178.15 kg CO₂ tree⁻¹). ‘Pusa Peetamber’ recorded the lowest values for these parameters. The findings indicate that cultivar-specific growth characteristics influence biomass carbon storage under the evaluated subtropical conditions. Cultivar selection may therefore support comparatively greater standing biomass carbon in high-density mango orchards, although longer-term measurements are required to estimate annual sequestration and whole-orchard carbon performance.