Biomass Carbon Stocks and Fluxes in States and Union Territories of India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36808/if/2020/v146i6/141134Keywords:
Biomass, Growing Stock, Assessment, Degradation, Forest Cover.Abstract
Studies to assess carbon stocks and their potential for implementation of REDD and REDD+ projects and policies have been conducted by scientists, academicians and policy makers all over the world. The present study reports estimates of carbon pools and fluxes in forests of all Indian states and Union Territories since 2003 to 2017. To estimate the carbon storage in state wise in forests growing stock data from 2003 to 2017 were used. Biomass data for the years 2003, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 were used to calculate the net flux caused by deforestation and degradation, between five assessment periods i.e., Assessment Period first (ASP I; 2003-2009), (ASP II; 2009-2011), (ASP III; 2011-2013), (ASP IV; 2013-2015) and (ASP V; 2015-2017). The estimated carbon stock (Mt) was 2912.14, 2768.87, 2745.69, 2569.01, 2618.84 and 2643.64 Mt respectively for the years 2003, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017. There was a net positive flux for first three assessment periods (698.04 Mt of CO2 in ASP I, 85.08 Mt of CO2 in ASP II, 648.4 Mt of CO2 in ASP III) and net negative flux (-184.14 Mt of CO2 in ASP IV and -91.00 Mt of CO2 in ASP V) for last two assessment 22 periods. The net flux also impacted annual CO2 emission and was of the 2 value of 349.02, 42.54, 324.2, -92.07 and -45.50 Mt of CO2 respectively for respective assessment periods. The carbon stock in India's forest biomass decreased continuously from 2003 onwards till 2015 thereafter; there is an increase in carbon stock from 2569.01 in 2015 to 2643.64 in 2017. Further forest degradation will reduce forest carbon density and hence release of carbon into the atmosphere will enhance leading to global warming. However, proper management of degraded forests and ways to enhance the forest cover will result in significant increase in carbon sequestration by India's forests and may have more scope during implementation of REDD and REDD+ projects and policies.References
ALGAS (1998). Asia Least-cost Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy India Country Report. 1998. Asian Development Bank. Global Environment Facility United Nations Development Programme, Manila, Philippines.
Andreae M.O. (1991). Biomass burning.Its history, use, and distribution and its impact on environmental quality and global climate. In Global Biomass Burning: Atmospheric, Climatic, and Biospheric Implications. Edited by: Levine JS. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts; 3-21.
Andreae M.O. (1993). The influence of tropical biomass burning on climate and the atmospheric environment. In Biogeochemistry of Global Change: Radiatively Active Trace Gases. Edited by: Oremland RS. Chapman and Hall, New York, 113-150.
Anon., (2010). Global Forest Resources Assessment, 2010-Main Report. FAO Forestry Paper 163. Rome, Italy. 340p.
Anon., (1991). The Forest Sector. The World Bank, Washington DC. Repetto, R. 1988. The forest for the trees? Government policies and the misuse of forest resources.
World Resource Institute, Washington DC.
Anon., (2011). Mining, deforestation cause severe drought. March 5 The Asian Age, New Delhi.
Atjay G.L., Ketner P. and Davigneaud P. (1979). Terristrial primary production and phytomass'. In The Global Carbon Cycle. Edited by: Bolin B Degens E.T., Kempe S., Ketner P. John Wiley and Sons, New York; Scope 13.
Banday M., Bhardwaj D.R. and Pala N.A. (2017). Variation of stem density and vegetation carbon pool in subtropical forests of Northwestern Himalaya. Journal of Sustainable Forestry DOI: 10.1080/10549811.2017.1416641
Bhardwaj D.R., Banday M., Pala N.A. and Rajput R.S. (2016). Variation of biomass and carbon pool with NDVI and altitude in sub-tropical forests of north-western Himalaya. Environment Monitoring and Assessment, 188:635; DOI 10.1007/s10661-016-5626-3
Bhat J.A., Iqbal K., Kumar M., Negi A.K. and Todaria N.P. (2013). Carbon stock of trees along an elevational gradient intemperate forests of Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary. Forest Science Practice, 15(2), 137-143.
Bowen H.L.M. (1979). Environmental Chemistry of the Elements. Academic Press, London.
Brown S. and Lugo A.E. (1984). Biomass of Tropical Forests: A New Estimate Based on Forest Volumes. Science, 223:1290-1293.
Chan Y.H. (1982). Storage and release of organic carbon in peninsular Malaysia. International Journal of Environmental studies, 18:211-222.
Chhabra A., Palria S. and Dadhwal V.K. (2002a). Growing stock based forest biomass estimate for India. Biomass Bioenergy, 22:187-194.
Chhabra A., Palria S. and Dadhwal V.K. (2002b). Spatial distribution of phytomass carbon in Indian forests. Glob. Chang Biol., 8:1230-1239.
Chhabra A. and Dadhwal V.K. (2004).Assessment of major pools and fluxes of carbon in Indian forests. Climatic Change, 64:341-360.
Clark D.A., Brown S., Kicklighter D.W., Chambers J.Q., Thomlinson J.R., Ni J. and Holland E.A. 2001. Net primary production in tropical forests: an evaluation and synthesis of existing field data. Ecological Application, 11: 371-384.
Dadhwal V.K. and Shah A.K. (1997). Recent changes (19821991) in forest Phytomass Carbon Pool in India estimated using Growing Stock and Remote Sensing Based Forest Inventories . J. Tropical Forestry, 13: 182-188.
Dadhwal V.K. and Nayak S.R. (1993). A preliminary estimate of biogeochemical cycle of carbon for India. Sci. and Cult., 59: 9-13.
Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). (2005). Global Forest Resources Assessments. Pilot study for country reporting (India), Rome, 2003.
FAO (2005). Food and Agricultural Organisation, 2005. Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005. Progress Towards Sustainable Forest Management. FAO, Rome.
FSI (2003). State of Forest Report Forest Survey of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests Government of India, Dehradun.
FSI (2009). State of Forest Report Forest Survey of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests Government of India, Dehradun.
FSI (2011). State of Forest Report Forest Survey of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests Government of India, Dehradun.
FSI (2013). State of Forest Report Forest Survey of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests Government of India, Dehradun.
FSI (2015). State of Forest Report Forest Survey of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests Government of India, Dehradun.
FSI (2017). State of Forest Report Forest Survey of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests Government of India, Dehradun.
Griffiths T. and Hirvelä V.V. (2008). India: Illegal aluminum refinery in Tribal lands in Orissa. WRM's bulletin Nº 126, January 2008.
Haripriya G.S. (2000). Estimate of biomass in Indian forests. Biomass Bioenergy , 19:245.
Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (1995). IPCC Guidelines for greenhouse gas inventory workbook, Volume 2, Module 5-Land Use Change and Forestry, 5.1-5.45.
Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (2000). IPCC Good Practice Guidance and Uncertainty Management in National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. In: Penman, J., Kruger, D. Galbally I., Hiraishi T., Nyenzi B., Emmanuel S., Buendia L., Hoppaus R., Martinsen T., Meijer J., Miwa K., Tanabe K. (Eds). Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), IPCC/OECD/IEA/IGES, Hayama, Japan.
Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (2004). IPCC Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland.
Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change. (1995). IPCC Landuse change and forestry: Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Reference Manual. In Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Edited by: Houghton J.T., Meira Filho L.G., Lim B., Treanton K., Mamaty I., Bonduki Y., Griggs D.J., Callander B.A. 1997, 3, assessed on 10th Dec., 2007.
Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change. (2007). Climate Change 2007: The Scientific Basis: IPCC fourth assessment report, Working Group I.
Kaul M., Mohren G.M.J. and Dadhwal V.K. (2011). Phytomass carbon pool of trees and forests in India. Climatic Change, 108:243-259.
Kaul M., Dadhwal, V.K. and Mohren G.M.J. (2009). Land use change and net C flux in Indian forests. Forest Ecology and Management, 258: 100-108.
Kiswan J., Pandy R. and Dadhwal V.K. (2009). Technical Paper India's Forest and Tree Cover: Contribution as a Carbon Sink. India Council of Forestry Research and Education New Forest Dehradun-248006. India.
Lal M. and Singh R. (2000). Carbon sequestration potential of Indian forests. Environment Monitoring Assessment, 60: 315-327.
Levine J.S. (1996). Biomass Burning and Global Change.MIT Press, Cambridge, MA; 902-28.Ludwig J., Marufu L.T., B. Huber., M.O. Andreae and Helas G. (2003). Domestic Combustion of Biomass Fuels in Developing Countries: A Major Source of Atmospheric Pollutants. Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry, 44:23-37.
Manhas R.K., Negi J.D.S., Rajesh K. and Chauhan P.S. (2006). Temporal assessment of growing stock, biomass and carbon stock of Indian forests. Climatic Change, 74:191-221.
Mitra A. Sengupta K. and Banerjee K. (2011). Standing biomass and carbon storage of above-ground structures in dominant mangrove trees in the Sundarbans. Forest Ecology and Management, 261: 1325-1335.
Myers N. (1994). Tropical deforestation: rates and patterns. In: The Causes of Tropical of Tropical Deforestation. The economic and statistical analysis of factors giving rise to the loss of the tropical forest, eds. Brown, K. and Pearce, D. pp 27-40. UCL Press.
Negi J.D.S. (1984). Biological productivity and cycling of nutrients in managed and manmade ecosystem. Garhwal University, Garhwal; 1984, Ph.D. thesis.
Ogawa H., Yoda K. and Ogino K. (1965). Comparative ecological studies on three main types of forests vegetation in Thailand II. Plant Biomass. In: Nature and Life in Southeast Asia. Volume 4. Edited by: Kira T, Iwata K. Fauna and Flora Research Society; 49-80.
Olson J.S., Watts J.A. and Allison L.J. (1983). Carbon in Live Vegetation of Major World Ecosystems. Oak Ridge National Laboratory ORNL-5862, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Pala N.A., Negi A.K. and Todaria N.P. (2015). Ecological status and socio-cultural significance of Sem mukhem temple landscape in Garhwal Himalaya, India. Indian Forester, 141(5): 496-504.
Pala N.A., Negi A.K., Vikrant K.K., Gokhale Y., Aziem S and Todaria N.P. (2012). Carbon stock estimation in tree species of Sem Mukhem sacred forest in Garhwal Himalaya, Journal of Forestry Research. DOI-10.1007/s11676-013-0341-1
Ravindranath N.H., Somashekhar B.S., and Gadgil M. (1997) Carbon flows in Indian forests. Climatic Change, 35: 297-320.
Rawat Y.S. and Singh J.S. (1988). Structure and function of oak forests in Central Himalaya.I.dry Matter Dynamics. Annals of Botany, 62: 397-411.
Repetto R. 1990. Deforestation in the Tropics. Scientific American April, p. 37.www.intechopen.com
Richards J.F. and Flint E.P. (1994) Historic land use and carbon estimates for South and Southeast Asia: 1880-1990. ORNL/CDIAC-61, NDP-046. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, USA, 326 pp.
Rowe R., Sharma N.P. and Bowder J. (1992). Deforestation: problems, causes and concern. In: Managing the world's forest: looking for balance between conservation and development, ed. Sharma, N. P. Pp 33-46. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, Iowa.
Sandrine L., Claude N.Y.S., Christian W., Françoise F., Sandrine H., Paula R and Stéphane F. (2006). Estimation of carbon stocks in a beech forest (Fougères Forest - W. France): trapolation from the plots to the whole forest. Annals of Forest Science, 63: 139-148. doi: 10.1051/forest:2005 106.
Saugier B. and Roy J. (2001). Estimations of global terrestrial productivity; converging towards a single number? In Global terrestrial productivity: past, present and future. Edited by: Roy J, Saugier B., Mooney H.A. Academic Press, New York.
Schlesinger W.H. (1991). Biogeochemistry, an Analysis of Global Change. New York USA, Academic Press.
Sheikh M.A., Kumar M., Bussman R.W. and Todaria N.P. (2012). Forest carbon stocks and fluxes in physiographic zones of India, Carbon Balance and Management, 6:15.
Singh J.S. and Singh S.P. (1985). An integrated ecological study of Eastern Kumaun Himalaya with emphasis on natural resources. Report for DST Sponsored project, Botany Department, Kumaun University, Nainital.
Susott R.A., Olbu G.J., Baker S.P., Ward D.E., Kauffman J.B., and Shea R.W. (1996). Carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and thermogravimetric analysis of tropical ecosystem biomass.In Biomass Burning and Global Change. Edited by: Levine JS. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA; 249-259.
Vargas R., Allen M.F. and Allen E.B. (2008). Biomass and carbon accumulation in a fire chronosequence of a seasonally dry tropical forest. Change Biology 14: 109-124.
Woomer P.L. (1999). Impact of cultivation of carbon fluxes in woody savannas of southern Africa. Water Air Soil Pollu, 70:403-412.
Zhang N., Yu Z.L., Yu G.R. and Wu J. (2007). Scaling up ecosystem productivity from patch to landscape: a case study of the Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve, China. Landscape Ecology, 22: 303-315.
Downloads
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Unless otherwise stated, copyright or similar rights in all materials presented on the site, including graphical images, are owned by Indian Forester.
