Assessing the climate change mitigation potential of coconut plantation in Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu

Abstract

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are ceaselessly increasing in the atmosphere leading to climate change. Capturing and storing carbon by adopting a suitable agricultural practice is of the effective method of carbon sequestration. Dindigul, is one of the leading coconut producing districts of Tamil Nadu covering an area of 31,507 ha. Samples were collected from the Tall (Aliyar Nagar 1) and Dwarf (Chowghat Orange Dwarf (COD)) and Chowghat Green Dwarf (CGD) varieties during different ages (five, fifteen, twenty, and twenty-fifth year). The carbon sequestered by five, ten, fifteen, twenty and twenty five year old coconut tall variety trees were 1.91, 2.55, 2.91, 3.40 and 3.83 tons acre-1 year-1. Similarly five, ten, fifteen, twenty and twenty five year old coconut dwarf variety could able to sequester 0.92, 0.78, 1.27, 1.98 and 2.48 tons acre-1 year-1 in Dindigul district. The carbon sequestration potential of ten year old coconut tree (Tall or Dwarf) were 18 to 28 kg acre-1 year-1 approximately. The fifteen years (2003 to 2018) coconut plantation of both tall and dwarf varieties in Dindigul district had sequestered was 1463652 tonnes of carbon di-oxide from the atmosphere.