20221
Author: Sibanda, Sifiso ×
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    Deriving biomass allocation and carbon stocks in fruit components of Strychnos madagascariensis (Poir.) and Strychnos spinosa (Lam.) in South Africa
    2022
     | Taylor & Francis
    Fruits contribute to carbon (C) fixation in fruit tree species of savannahwoodlands despite that the C fixed in fruits is rapidly turned back to carbondioxide (CO2) when the fruits decompose or are eaten. The aim of this studywas to determine biomass allocation between fruit components of Strychnosmadagascariensis and Strychnos spinosa and to derive the C stocks seque-strated by fruits. A total of 400 ripe fruits were harvested from trees distrib-uted in seven plots across the UMkhanyakude district. Fruit shell and pulpwere separated from seeds. Puree and juice of S. spinosa were separated bycentrifugation and steam extraction, respectively. Moisture contents of thefruit components were measured. For S. madagascariensis fruits, seeds con-tributed the most biomass (50.2%), followed by the shell (30.8%), and pulphad the least biomass (16.7%). The loss of material was 2.3%. For S. spinosa,the largest part of fruit biomass was in the shell (41.8%), followed by puree(25.6%), seeds (18.6%), juice (6.2%), and pulp (0.9%). The loss of material was6.9%. Fruit dry biomass (FDB; in g) and fruit carbon stocks (CB; in g) were bothrelated to fruit diameter (D; in cm) for S. madagascariensis (FDB = 1.022 ᵡD2.492; CB = 0.463 ᵡ D2.539) and S. spinosa (FDB = 1.015 ᵡ D2.38; CB = 0.198 ᵡD2.821). Proportion values and regression techniques were both valid meth-ods to derive biomass and carbon stocks of the fruit and its components.
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