A review of the carbon sequestration potential of fruit trees and their implications for climate change mitigation: The case of Ethiopia

Figures & data

Figure 1. Typical representation of an apple tree along with a schematic depiction of carbon pools.

Source (Lakso et al., 1999).

Table 1. The average carbon footprint values of a few fruits cultivated worldwide

Type of fruits	Mean value of carbon concentration	References
Papaya	0.3kg (0.67lb) of CO2e/kg	Choinova (2023) Choinova (2023) Choinova (2023)
Jack fruit	0.9 kg CO2e/kg
Guava	0.15 kg CO2e/kg
Passion fruit	0.77 kg CO2e/kg
Dragon fruit	0.9 kg CO2e/kg
Banana	0.21 kg (0.48 lb)/kg
Mango	0.21 kg (0.46 lbs) CO2e/kg
Avocado	0.19 kg CO2e/kg
Pineapple	0.09 kg (0.20 lb) of CO2e/kg
Orange, Lemons and Limes	0.3kg (0.66 lbs) CO2e/kg
Apples	0.24 kg (0.53 lbs) CO2e/kg
Plum	0.4 kg (0.88 lbs) CO2e/kg
Peach	0.17kg (0.38lbs) CO2e/kg
Pomegranate	0.39kg (0.87lb) CO2e/kg
Cherry	0.584 kg CO2e/kg
Apricot	0.16kg (0.36lb) CO2e/kg
Kiwifruits	0.9 kg CO2e/kg
Grape	0.64 kg (1.42 lbs) CO2e/kg
Pear	0.34 kg CO2e/kg
Strawberry	0.39kg (0.88lb) CO2e/kg
Blueberries	0.45kg (1lb) of CO2e/kg
Raspberries (Aggregate fruit)	0.15kg (0.33lb) of CO2e/kg

Table 2. Carbon stock potential of fruit trees in different carbon pools

No.	Carbon pools in the fruit tree ecosystems	Level of carbon stock	Ref.
1	Store carbon	Photosynthesis converts CO2 into glucose and oxygen, while trees store carbon in biomass and soil organic matter. Fruit plants sequester CO2 differently with varying carbon stocks, such as mango and jackfruit.	Manilay et al., (2021)
2	Above & below ground biomass	Indonesian study finds fruit tree biomass has high carbon sequestration capacity, with an average sequestration of 951.1356 tons per hectare and 191.5545 tons per hectare. Coffee plants contribute 4.4 Gg.	Shiferaw et al., (2022)
3	Litter biomass	Litter has low carbon storage capacity and low sequestration potential, but aboveground litter input increases soil organic carbon pools and microbial biomass, benefiting sequestration despite decomposition.	(Bhattacharyya et al., (2022)
4	Soil carbon	Soil is the largest terrestrial carbon sink, storing organic matter. Reducing loss involves minimal disturbance, clay particle management, and organic carbon addition.	(Mayer et al., (2022)

Figure 2. Contributions of fruit trees to the sustainable environment (short summary).

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