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Fine Root Biomass Differs Significantly across Different Forest Types and Soil Depth in Central Himalaya, India


Affiliations
1 Forest Research Institute (Deemed to be University), Dehradun 248 001, India
2 Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, Kumaun University, Nainital 263 001, India
3 Institute of Forestry, Pokhara 33700, Nepal
4 Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Dehradun 248 001, India
5 Asia Network for Sustainable Agriculture and Bioresources, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal
 

Fine roots (diameter less than 2 mm) comprise a significant portion of the plant biomass. They are important for water absorption, cycling of nutrients and the carbon budget on a global scale. The aim of the present study was to quantify fine root biomass in the Nainital district, Central Himalaya, India, which has several dominant forest types. A total of 81 samples were collected from nine sample plots for each forest type in three distinct directions. The results showed that sal forest (1.11  0.04 t ha–1) had the largest fine root biomass, followed by oak forest (0.72  0.06 t ha–1) and pine forest (0.61  0.06 t ha–1). We observed that the trend in fine root biomass across different forest types was as follows: sal forest > oak forest > pine forest, significant at 0.05 level. Fine root biomass was also observed to decrease similarly with increasing soil depth in each forest type, following the trend: 0–20 cm > 20– 40 cm > 40–60 cm, which was significant at 0.05 level. Researchers will benefit from this study since it will help them comprehend fine root biomass variation and offer baseline data for future research on nutrient cycling and the global carbon budget.

Keywords

Forest Types, Global Carbon Budget, Nutrient Cycling, Plant Biomass, Soil Depth
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  • Fine Root Biomass Differs Significantly across Different Forest Types and Soil Depth in Central Himalaya, India

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Authors

Harish Bahadur Chand
Forest Research Institute (Deemed to be University), Dehradun 248 001, India
Ganesh Joshi
Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, Kumaun University, Nainital 263 001, India
Roshan Prasad Bhatta
Institute of Forestry, Pokhara 33700, Nepal
Sanjay Singh
Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Dehradun 248 001, India
Abhishek Kumar
Forest Research Institute (Deemed to be University), Dehradun 248 001, India
Nabin Raj Joshi
Asia Network for Sustainable Agriculture and Bioresources, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal
Ramesh Bohara
Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, Kumaun University, Nainital 263 001, India

Abstract


Fine roots (diameter less than 2 mm) comprise a significant portion of the plant biomass. They are important for water absorption, cycling of nutrients and the carbon budget on a global scale. The aim of the present study was to quantify fine root biomass in the Nainital district, Central Himalaya, India, which has several dominant forest types. A total of 81 samples were collected from nine sample plots for each forest type in three distinct directions. The results showed that sal forest (1.11  0.04 t ha–1) had the largest fine root biomass, followed by oak forest (0.72  0.06 t ha–1) and pine forest (0.61  0.06 t ha–1). We observed that the trend in fine root biomass across different forest types was as follows: sal forest > oak forest > pine forest, significant at 0.05 level. Fine root biomass was also observed to decrease similarly with increasing soil depth in each forest type, following the trend: 0–20 cm > 20– 40 cm > 40–60 cm, which was significant at 0.05 level. Researchers will benefit from this study since it will help them comprehend fine root biomass variation and offer baseline data for future research on nutrient cycling and the global carbon budget.

Keywords


Forest Types, Global Carbon Budget, Nutrient Cycling, Plant Biomass, Soil Depth

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv123%2Fi2%2F194-201