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Climate change has emerged as a pressing worldwide concern, and therefore it needs sustainable and cost-efficient solutions that accommodate environmental, economic, and social objectives. Agroforestry systems, especially in ecologically sensitive and mountain areas like Sikkim in the Eastern Himalayas, hold high value for carbon sequestration as well as the maintenance of biodiversity and rural livelihood. This research assesses the carbon sequestration potential of three of Sikkim's traditional agroforestry models involving tree species Alnus nepalensis, Mangifera indica, and Citrus reticulata. Each of these species represents a unique agroforestry practice—cardamom, home garden-based, and mandarin-based respectively.
Species- specific equations and IPCC guidelines were used to calculate Above Ground Biomass (AGB) and Below Ground Biomass (BGB) of the tree species. Results show that Alnus nepalensis, with its high growth rate and nitrogen fixation ability, has the maximum annual biomass yield of 4.81 t/ha, followed by Mangifera indica (2.78 t/ha/yr) and Citrus reticulata (0.60 t/ha/yr). During a span of 45 years (till 2070), the systems are estimated to sequester a total of about 3.34 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent on 16,000 ha of land (including fallow land and culturable wasteland of Sikkim).
The results emphasize the strategic importance of India's indigenous agroforestry system in the country's climate mitigation agenda, in facilitating the nation's pledge to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070. Integrating the use of traditional knowledge with scientific carbon accounting, this study provides practical recommendations for land-based climate solutions in mountain and resource-poor ecosystems.
