Perennial vegetables: A neglected resource for biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and nutrition

Discussion PVs are highly a highly diverse and underutilized class of crop plants. They offer impressive potential to address nutrient deficiencies impacting billions of people around the world. PVs sequester carbon, and increased adoption to provide nutrition would offer this important Fig 3. Climate suitability of cultivated perennial vegetables. “Arctic-boreal” includes arctic and boreal species (USDA hardiness zones 1–3), “temperate” includes warm and cold temperate species (USDA hardiness zones 4–8), “tropical” includes tropical lowlands (USDA zones 10–11, below 1500m elevation), tropical highlands (USDA zones 10–11, above 1500m elevation), and subtropics (USDA zone 9). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234611.g003 Table 3. Global scenarios and sequestration impact of new PV adoption in 2050. Scenario Mha global vegetable production Adoption Rate % Woody PVs Mha in Woody PVs MMT CO2-eq/yr in Woody PVs Mha in Non- Woody PVs MMT CO2-eq/yr in Non-Woody PVs Total Mha in PVs Total MMT CO2-eq/yr PVs 1a 58.2 Linear 25% 1.2 4.6 3.7 5.8 4.9 22.7 1b 58.2 Linear 50% 2.5 33.8 2.5 3.9 4.9 37.7 1c 58.2 Linear 75% 3.7 50.7 1.2 1.9 4.9 52.6 2a 58.2 Exponential 25% 2.2 30.0 6.6 10.4 8.8 40.4 2b 58.2 Exponential 50% 4.4 60.0 4.4 6.9 8.8 67.0 2c 58.2 Exponential 75% 6.6 90.1 2.2 3.5 8.8 93.5 3a 174.5 Linear 25% 3.7 50.7 11.1 17.5 14.8 68.2 3b 174.5 Linear 50% 7.4 101.3 7.4 11.7 14.8 113.0 3c 174.5 Linear 75% 11.1 152.0 3.7 5.8 14.8 157.8 4a 174.5 Exponential 25% 6.6 90.1 19.8 31.2 26.4 121.2

4b 174.5 Exponential 50% 13.2 180.1 13.2 20.8 26.4 200.9 4c 174.5 Exponential 75% 19.8 270.2 6.6 10.4 26.4 280.6 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234611.t003 PLOS ONE Perennial vegetables: A neglected resource for biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and nutrition PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234611 July 10, 2020 11 / 19