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Variation of biomass and carbon pools with forest type in temperate forests of Kashmir Himalaya, India

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Abstract

An accurate characterization of tree, understory, deadwood, floor litter, and soil organic carbon (SOC) pools in temperate forest ecosystems is important to estimate their contribution to global carbon (C) stocks. However, this information on temperate forests of the Himalayas is lacking and fragmented. In this study, we measured C stocks of tree (aboveground and belowground biomass), understory (shrubs and herbaceous), deadwood (standing and fallen trees and stumps), floor litter, and soil from 111 plots of 50 m × 50 m each, in seven forest types: Populus deltoides (PD), Juglans regia (JR), Cedrus deodara (CD), Pinus wallichiana (PW), mixed coniferous (MC), Abies pindrow (AP), and Betula utilis (BU) in temperate forests of Kashmir Himalaya, India. The main objective of the present study is to quantify the ecosystem C pool in these seven forest types. The results showed that the tree biomass ranged from 100.8 Mg ha−1 in BU forest to 294.8 Mg ha−1 for the AP forest. The understory biomass ranged from 0.16 Mg ha−1 in PD forest to 2.36 Mg ha−1 in PW forest. Deadwood biomass ranged from 1.5 Mg ha−1 in PD forest to 14.9 Mg ha−1 for the AP forest, whereas forest floor litter ranged from 2.5 Mg ha−1 in BU and JR forests to 3.1 Mg ha−1 in MC forest. The total ecosystem carbon stocks varied from 112.5 to 205.7 Mg C ha−1 across all the forest types. The C stocks of tree, understory, deadwood, litter, and soil ranged from 45.4 to 135.6, 0.08 to 1.18, 0.7 to 6.8, 1.1 to 1.4, and 39.1–91.4 Mg ha−1, respectively, which accounted for 61.3, 0.2, 1.4, 0.8, and 36.3 % of the total carbon stock. BU forest accounted 65 % from soil C and 35 % from biomass, whereas PD forest contributed only 26 % from soil C and 74 % from biomass. Of the total C stock in the 0–30-cm soil, about 55 % was stored in the upper 0–10 cm. Soil C stocks in BU forest were significantly higher than those in other forests. The variability of C pools of different ecosystem components is influenced by vegetation type, stand structure, management history, and altitude. Our results reveal that a higher percentage (63 %) of C is stored in biomass and less in soil in these temperate forests except at the higher elevation broad-leaved BU forest. Results from this study will enhance our ability to evaluate the role of these forests in regional and global C cycles and have great implications for planning strategies for conservation. The study provides important data for developing and validating C cycling models for temperate forests.

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Acknowledgments

We thankfully acknowledge the financial support provided by University Grants Commission (UGC), Government of India for its fellowship, and Forest Departments of Anantnag & Lidder Divisions in J&K, India, for permission and help. We are also thankful to the Department of Botany, Islamia College of Science and Commerce for their laboratory facilities. We thank Dr. S. Jayakumar, Associate Professor, Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University, for map preparation. We thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments to improve the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, 605014, India

    Javid Ahmad Dar & Somaiah Sundarapandian

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Dar, J.A., Sundarapandian, S. Variation of biomass and carbon pools with forest type in temperate forests of Kashmir Himalaya, India. Environ Monit Assess 187, 55 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-4299-7

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