The survey was held in partnership between Embrapa and Fundecitrus in the Brazilian Citrus Belt, which covers 560,000 hectares in São Paulo and Minas Gerais. It was funded by the British company Innocent Drinks, which supports sustainable agricultural initiatives. In order to estimate carbon stocks, the researchers assessed orange production areas in contrast with native vegetation areas, as well as their soils. The 36 million tons of carbon stored in the citrus belt are equivalent to 133 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) that were not emitted into the atmosphere. A study led by a partnership between Embrapa and the Fund for Citrus Protection (Fundecitrus) identified over 300 species of wild animals in the so-called Brazilian Citrus Belt, which comprises the state of São Paulo and the Southwest/Triângulo Mineiro region of the state of Minas Gerais. The survey found mostly birds and mammals circulating or living in the citrus production environments of five orange farms. The scientific investigation also estimated that about 36 million tons of carbon were stored in the orange trees, soil and native vegetation areas. The project was selected by the British company Innocent Drinks' Farmer Innovation Fund, which provides funding to its ingredient suppliers in initiatives that support the transition to low-carbon agriculture, higher biodiversity and fairer farming practices. “We are celebrating 10 years of the Orange Crop Forecast (PES, from the acronym in Portuguese) and are happy to present the results of the work on the preservation of fauna in citriculture, which was carried out in partnership with Embrapa. Today, incentives for good agricultural practices, sustainable management and maintenance of the citrus production chain, along with the preservation of natural resources, are essential and indispensable practices, not only for the fauna, but also for the ecosystem as a whole, and favour both present and future generations. The study demystifies the relationship between citriculture and deforestation and shows how fauna and flora walk together’, says Antonio Juliano Ayres, general manager of Fundecitrus. “The work has demonstrated there is a great wealth of wild vertebrate animals coexisting within citrus properties. We can say that citriculture is promoting biodiversity of fauna and coexisting very well with it," says José Roberto Miranda, researcher at Embrapa Territorial (Campinas, SP). “Wildlife can explore many things within an agricultural system, especially in a tree system like citriculture, which offers places to build nests. Furthermore, several species feed on oranges without this becoming a loss for farmers,’ he added. The researcher also pointed out that many insects, including those that transmit citrus diseases, are captured by birds. The sighting of wild animals within orange orchards has become increasingly frequent," testifies Vinícius Trombin, coordinator of Fundecitrus’ Orange Crop Forecast. In addition to the favourable environment created by the groves, he attributes the presence of fauna to the areas of native vegetation located within the properties. According to a survey by Fundecitrus based on data from the Brazilian Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and methodology from Embrapa Territorial, there are nearly 160,000 hectares dedicated to this purpose in citrus farms. Citrus belt harbors million tons de carbon In addition to hosting wildlife, the 560,000 hectares of the Citrus Belt territory store around 36 million tons of carbon ‘captured’ in orange trees, soil, and native vegetation areas. These data are also a result of the research carried out by Embrapa and Fundecitrus.. To calculate carbon stocks in production areas, researchers made field trips to three farms, and evaluated 80 orange trees of the Pera and Valencia varieties, aged three years and older. The trees were measured and then separated into parts: trunk, branches, leaves, and roots. Each fresh part was weighed in the field, and later sent to a laboratory for drying and re-weighing. In the laboratory, the samples were analysed to determine the amount of carbon in the biomass. In addition to the assessments of the 80 trees, biometric data were also collected from approximately 3,500 orange trees spread across thousands of farms throughout the Citrus Belt. This survey allowed for the extrapolation of the carbon data obtained from the sampling. Based on the data obtained, mathematical calculations indicated that 47% of carbon is stored in the biomass of each orange tree in the Citrus Belt. Leading this stage, Carlos Cesar Ronquim, da Embrapa Territorial, researcher at Embrapa Territorial, highlights the novelty of the work. ‘We were able to evaluate a good number of adult trees, not only their aboveground part but also the roots. This generated robust data that show considerable carbon accumulation in a woody crop that remains in the field for 20 years or longer,’ he reports. "Knowing how much carbon each tree and the citrus production area store, under Brazilian conditions, is an important step towards considering other metrics too, such as carbon balance, " he adds. An orange tree contains 50 kg of carbon on average. This result allowed for extrapolating the data to the entire Citrus Belt. Fundecitrus inventoried 170 million plants aged 3 years and older. "We reached a figure of 8.2 million tons of carbon stored in the orchards alone," announces Lauro Nogueira Júnior, researcher at Embrapa Territorial and project leader. The estimate of the total carbon stored in the Citrus Belt also had to consider the soil, one of the planet's main reservoirs. To make this calculation, the Map of Organic Carbon in the Soil was used. The survey of stocks in the environmental preservation areas of the farms used data from the Brazilian National Greenhouse Gas Inventory and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). "These farms are located in Cerrado (Brazilian Savannah) and Atlantic Rainforest areas. This means that there are differences in biomass and carbon stock for these different vegetation scenarios," Nogueira Júnior explains. Climate change The 36 million tons of carbon stocked in the soil, in both production and preservation areas within the Citrus Belt, are equivalent to 133 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) hat have not been emitted into the atmosphere. "When we talk about climate change, we think a lot about CO2, one of the main causes of the greenhouse effect. It turns into carbon when absorbed by plants and is incorporated into the soil and biomass. This is a way for citrus farmers to contribute to climate change mitigation. Our work consisted of measuring how citrus farms contribute to carbon stocks," Nogueira Júnior says. Trombin, from Fundecitrus, observes that ‘The role of citriculture in preserving natural resources and its positive integration into the environment has never been news to producers. However, concrete data to support this knowledge were lacking. What was once only farmers' empirical knowledge is now based on scientific data." Brazilian citriculture is world reference Citriculture in the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais stands out globally due to its productivity, fruit quality, and orange juice production. In the 2023/2024 crop year, it produced 307.22 million crates of fruit. The industry is also a reference in research, development, technology transfer, and sustainable practices. It produces nearly 200,000 direct and indirect jobs and a tax revenue of US$180 million. Photo by: Orlando Passos
Photo: Carlos Ronquim
Carbon stocked in citrus belt production and preservation areas, as well as in their soils, was estimated at 36 million tons
The survey was held in partnership between Embrapa and Fundecitrus in the Brazilian Citrus Belt, which covers 560,000 hectares in São Paulo and Minas Gerais.
It was funded by the British company Innocent Drinks, which supports sustainable agricultural initiatives.
In order to estimate carbon stocks, the researchers assessed orange production areas in contrast with native vegetation areas, as well as their soils.
The 36 million tons of carbon stored in the citrus belt are equivalent to 133 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) that were not emitted into the atmosphere.
A study led by a partnership between Embrapa and the Fund for Citrus Protection (Fundecitrus) identified over 300 species of wild animals in the so-called Brazilian Citrus Belt, which comprises the state of São Paulo and the Southwest/Triângulo Mineiro region of the state of Minas Gerais. The survey found mostly birds and mammals circulating or living in the citrus production environments of five orange farms. The scientific investigation also estimated that about 36 million tons of carbon were stored in the orange trees, soil and native vegetation areas.
The project was selected by the British company Innocent Drinks' Farmer Innovation Fund, which provides funding to its ingredient suppliers in initiatives that support the transition to low-carbon agriculture, higher biodiversity and fairer farming practices.
“We are celebrating 10 years of the Orange Crop Forecast (PES, from the acronym in Portuguese) and are happy to present the results of the work on the preservation of fauna in citriculture, which was carried out in partnership with Embrapa. Today, incentives for good agricultural practices, sustainable management and maintenance of the citrus production chain, along with the preservation of natural resources, are essential and indispensable practices, not only for the fauna, but also for the ecosystem as a whole, and favour both present and future generations. The study demystifies the relationship between citriculture and deforestation and shows how fauna and flora walk together’, says Antonio Juliano Ayres, general manager of Fundecitrus.
“The work has demonstrated there is a great wealth of wild vertebrate animals coexisting within citrus properties. We can say that citriculture is promoting biodiversity of fauna and coexisting very well with it," says José Roberto Miranda, researcher at Embrapa Territorial (Campinas, SP). “Wildlife can explore many things within an agricultural system, especially in a tree system like citriculture, which offers places to build nests. Furthermore, several species feed on oranges without this becoming a loss for farmers,’ he added. The researcher also pointed out that many insects, including those that transmit citrus diseases, are captured by birds.
The sighting of wild animals within orange orchards has become increasingly frequent," testifies Vinícius Trombin, coordinator of Fundecitrus’ Orange Crop Forecast. In addition to the favourable environment created by the groves, he attributes the presence of fauna to the areas of native vegetation located within the properties. According to a survey by Fundecitrus based on data from the Brazilian Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and methodology from Embrapa Territorial, there are nearly 160,000 hectares dedicated to this purpose in citrus farms.
Citrus belt harbors million tons de carbon
In addition to hosting wildlife, the 560,000 hectares of the Citrus Belt territory store around 36 million tons of carbon ‘captured’ in orange trees, soil, and native vegetation areas. These data are also a result of the research carried out by Embrapa and Fundecitrus..
To calculate carbon stocks in production areas, researchers made field trips to three farms, and evaluated 80 orange trees of the Pera and Valencia varieties, aged three years and older. The trees were measured and then separated into parts: trunk, branches, leaves, and roots. Each fresh part was weighed in the field, and later sent to a laboratory for drying and re-weighing. In the laboratory, the samples were analysed to determine the amount of carbon in the biomass.
In addition to the assessments of the 80 trees, biometric data were also collected from approximately 3,500 orange trees spread across thousands of farms throughout the Citrus Belt. This survey allowed for the extrapolation of the carbon data obtained from the sampling.
Based on the data obtained, mathematical calculations indicated that 47% of carbon is stored in the biomass of each orange tree in the Citrus Belt. Leading this stage, Carlos Cesar Ronquim, da Embrapa Territorial, researcher at Embrapa Territorial, highlights the novelty of the work. ‘We were able to evaluate a good number of adult trees, not only their aboveground part but also the roots. This generated robust data that show considerable carbon accumulation in a woody crop that remains in the field for 20 years or longer,’ he reports. "Knowing how much carbon each tree and the citrus production area store, under Brazilian conditions, is an important step towards considering other metrics too, such as carbon balance, " he adds.
An orange tree contains 50 kg of carbon on average. This result allowed for extrapolating the data to the entire Citrus Belt. Fundecitrus inventoried 170 million plants aged 3 years and older. "We reached a figure of 8.2 million tons of carbon stored in the orchards alone," announces Lauro Nogueira Júnior, researcher at Embrapa Territorial and project leader.
The estimate of the total carbon stored in the Citrus Belt also had to consider the soil, one of the planet's main reservoirs. To make this calculation, the Map of Organic Carbon in the Soil was used. The survey of stocks in the environmental preservation areas of the farms used data from the Brazilian National Greenhouse Gas Inventory and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). "These farms are located in Cerrado (Brazilian Savannah) and Atlantic Rainforest areas. This means that there are differences in biomass and carbon stock for these different vegetation scenarios," Nogueira Júnior explains.
Climate change
The 36 million tons of carbon stocked in the soil, in both production and preservation areas within the Citrus Belt, are equivalent to 133 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) hat have not been emitted into the atmosphere. "When we talk about climate change, we think a lot about CO2, one of the main causes of the greenhouse effect. It turns into carbon when absorbed by plants and is incorporated into the soil and biomass. This is a way for citrus farmers to contribute to climate change mitigation. Our work consisted of measuring how citrus farms contribute to carbon stocks," Nogueira Júnior says.
Trombin, from Fundecitrus, observes that ‘The role of citriculture in preserving natural resources and its positive integration into the environment has never been news to producers. However, concrete data to support this knowledge were lacking. What was once only farmers' empirical knowledge is now based on scientific data."
Brazilian citriculture is world reference
Citriculture in the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais stands out globally due to its productivity, fruit quality, and orange juice production. In the 2023/2024 crop year, it produced 307.22 million crates of fruit. The industry is also a reference in research, development, technology transfer, and sustainable practices. It produces nearly 200,000 direct and indirect jobs and a tax revenue of US$180 million.
Citrus belt harbors million tons de carbon
