Assessment of Above- and Below-Ground Carbon Pools in a Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest Ecosystem of Bhopal, India

Abstract

This study estimated 18.35 Mg C/ha in standing biomass of natural forest and 15 Mg C/ha in Hardwickia binata Roxb. plantation in a tropical dry deciduous forest located in the capital city of Madhya Pradesh. The study area of Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal, resembled a degraded dry scrubland in 1988 and for over about three decades, the degraded forest recovered remarkably, and ecological processes evolved favorably with canopy cover reaching over 60% in some patches and about 50% in general at most part of the campus. The study was conducted in 18 randomly laid plots in natural forest and over one-acre (0.405-ha) plantation area of Hardwickia binata for assessing the above-ground biomass, below-ground biomass and subsequent carbon content. The lower-diameter classes accounted for the maximum above-ground biomass, basal area and tree density. The forest is predominantly occupied by Leucaena leucocephala, an exotic tree species which showed higher standing biomass carbon storage of 3.79 Mg C/ha followed by Holoptelea integrifolia (2.11 Mg C/ha), Azadirachta indica (1.29 Mg C/ha), Gardenia latifolia (1.26 Mg C/ha) and Lannea coromandelica (1.24 Mg C/ha) besides Hardwickia binata plantation (15 Mg C/ha). It is recommended to plant and promote local native tree species in the urban forests of tropical dry deciduous nature as a means to mitigate climate change effects.