Assessment of Critical Loads in Tropical Sal (Shorea robusta Gaertn. F.) Forests of Doon Valley Himalayas, India

Abstract

The present study was conducted in tropical Sal forest ecosystem of the Doon valley in the Indian Himalayas to assess the critical load of sulfur and nitrogen and their exceedances. The observed pattern of throughfall ionic composition in the study areThe sum of cation studied is 412.29 μeq l −1 and that of anions is 196.98 μeq l −1 , showing cation excess of 215.31 μeq l −1 . The cations, namely Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , K + , Na + , and NH 4 + , made a contribution of about 67% of the total ion strength, where as anion comprising of SO 4 2− , Cl − , NO 3 − Water Air Soil Pollut (2011) 218:235-264whereas the maximum nitrogen critical load ranged between 2,992.63 and 4,394.45 eq ha −1 year −1 . The minimum and the maximum critical loads of sulfur ranged between 2,130.49 and 3,261.64 eq ha −1 year −1 and 2,250.58 and 3,381.73 eq ha −1 year −1 , respectively. The values of exceedance of sulfur and nitrogen were negative, implying that in the current scenario Sal forests of the Doon valley are well protected from acidification.

Quantification of Above Ground Biomass (AGB) and Carbon Stock, Help to Mitigate Climate Change in the Western Plateau Forest Division of Jharkhand

“…The total AGB and Cp of all studied Sal forests sites were 255.24 Mg ha -1 , and 119.96 Mg C ha -1 , respectively, which is lower than the AGB of Sal plantation forest of Meghalaya, Northeast India (406 Mg ha -1 ) [50] as well as Sal forests of the Himalayas (78 to 378 Mg ha -1 ) [51]. The current record of AGB is within the reported range (150 to 698 Mg ha -1 ) of diverse tropical forests of the world [47,52] as well as compared with the reported range (28.1 to 330.87 Mg ha-1) of various tropical deciduous forests of India [53][54][55][56]…”

Mixed forest plantations can efficiently filter rainfall deposits of sulfur and chlorine in Western China

“…Therefore, urgency necessitates the use of refined insight to determine the direct and indirect effects of SO 4 2− and Cl − precipitation in urban areas and in farmland, grassland, river and lake ecosystems 45 46 , particularly because the maintenance of ecosystems and their health is an important prerequisite for biosphere sustainability. Therefore, a “forest filter” can be used to buffer pollution from atmospheric input during rainfall 47 48 to establish a “atmospheric pollutants input – plant – litter – soil – microbial” ecological cycle and to provide a theoretical basis for forest management in polluted areas.…”

“…When no persistent correlation existed between the DBH and stemflow for a certain species, an average stemflow value was calculated for all of the measured trees of the considered species. The surface runoff was monitored in each plot from 15 replicates to determine the mass fraction of elements and the export of surface runoff by using the runoff plot method 8 . Representative soil percolating water samples were collected from the 15 replicates at a depth of 50 cm because 90% of the root biomass was present 49 , the soil constituents at reflected the soil parent material and the soils were free from wind-blown materials at this depth 8 .…”

“…The surface runoff was monitored in each plot from 15 replicates to determine the mass fraction of elements and the export of surface runoff by using the runoff plot method 8 . Representative soil percolating water samples were collected from the 15 replicates at a depth of 50 cm because 90% of the root biomass was present 49 , the soil constituents at reflected the soil parent material and the soils were free from wind-blown materials at this depth 8 . The concentrations of all the investigated chemical compounds were multiplied by the water volumes of each sample to provide the quantities of each chemical compound per sample.…”

“…How to diminish sulfur and chlorine pollutants is an urgent problem. In comparison with chemical and physical methods, forest filtering is thought to be the most environment-friendly method for decreasing the concentrations of air pollutants such as sulfur and chlorine 7 8 . Atmospheric input and migration in a forest ecosystem during rainfall are often divided into the three following vertical levels: the canopy layer, cover layer and soil layer 9 ( Fig.…”