ENVIRONMENTAL BIOTECHNOLOGY APPLIED TO ARECÁCEAS VIA SUSTAINABLE BIOFERTILIZER, AN ALTERNATIVE TO CARBON SEQUESTRATION

Abstract

temperatures, extreme climate change, rising sea levels, melting glaciers, ocean acidification, and loss of biodiversity. In this context, environmental biotechnology applied to arecáceous trees, especially palm trees, emerges as an innovative and sustainable alternative for carbon sequestration. This work aims to evaluate the applications of biofertilizers in arecaceous plants, using environmental biotechnology as a promising strategy to optimize carbon sequestration in this plant family. To achieve this objective, the following methodologies were adopted: literature review, extraction and characterization of specific genes in Arecaceae species, analysis of the species with the highest efficiency in carbon sequestration, monitoring the impact of biofertilizer application on palm trees, evaluation of the effects of biotechnology on plant-environment interactions, monitoring of carbon sequestration in genetically improved palm trees,  and monitoring the photosynthetic enhancement and potentiation of young palms through EMGPALM. The results showed that the average chlorophyll per species was 2.09 mg/ml ± 0.41. The average biomass per ton per year was 5.02 ± 0.32, while the carbon was 2.26 ± 0.29. The average fresh weight biomass per palm tree was 4.23 kg/m², and the dry weight biomass was 2.58 kg/m². After the application of biofertilizer in six palm species, the annual growth ranged from 40 cm to 90 cm. The number of leaves was from 9 to 12, with an average biomass of 7.51 ± 0.37 t/ha and a carbon sequestration of 4.54 ± 0.4 t/ha. In comparison, the control group, which did not receive the biofertilizer, showed an annual growth between 17 cm and 40 cm, with the number of leaves varying between 7 and 9. The average biomass was 1.52 ± 0.02 t/ha, and the carbon sequestration was 0.56 ± 0.1 t/ha. Therefore, environmental biotechnology stands out as a promising, innovative, and sustainable alternative to maximize the role of Arecaceae in carbon sequestration.