Appraisal of Carbon Capture, Storage, and Utilization Through Fruit Crops

• Published in: Frontiers in environmental science 2021-07, Vol.9
• Main Authors: Sharma, Sunny, Rana, Vishal Singh, Prasad, Heerendra, Lakra, Johnson, Sharma, Umesh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: carbon emission; climate changes; fruit trees; production; storage
• ISSN: 2296-665X; 2296-665X
• DOI: 10.3389/fenvs.2021.700768

Nowadays, rapid increases in anthropogenic activities have resulted in increased greenhouse gases (GHGs; CO 2 , CH 4 , N 2 O) release in the atmosphere, resulting in increased global mean temperature, aberrant precipitation patterns, and several other climate changes that affect ecological and human lives on this planet. This article reviews the adaptation and mitigation of climate change by assessing carbon capture, storage, and utilization by fruit crops. Perennial plants in forests, fruit orchards, and grasslands are efficient sinks of atmospheric carbon, whereas field crops are a great source of GHG due to soil disturbance, emission of CH 4 and/or N 2 O from burning straw, and field management involving direct (fuel) or indirect (chemicals) emissions from fossil fuels. Thus, there is a need to establish sustainable agricultural systems that can minimize emissions and are capable of sequestering carbon within the atmosphere. Fruit orchards and vineyards have great structural characteristics, such as long life cycle; permanent organs such as trunk, branches, and roots; null soil tillage (preserving soil organic matter); high quality and yield, which allow them to accumulate a significant amount of carbon. Hence, the fruit plants have significant potential to sequester carbon in the atmosphere. However, the efficiency of carbon sequestration by different fruit crops and their management systems may vary due to their growth and development patterns, physiological behavior, biomass accumulation, and environmental factors.