Carbon Sequestration in Indian Natural and Planted Forests

Among the global common concerns, climate change has been identified as the most important environmental challenge facing humanity. Emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons are identified as green house gases causing warming of earth globally. Of these, CO₂ alone accounts for 60 per cent share. Absorbing atmospheric CO₂ and moving into the physiological system and plant biomass, and finally into the soil, is considered as the most practical way of removing excess C from atmosphere and storing it into a biological system. C is, thus, sequestered into the plants and then the animals. Studies have established that C sequestration by trees and forests could provide relatively low cost net emission reductions. C management in forests is, therefore, one of the most important agenda in India in the 21st century in context of green house gases effects and mitigation of global climate changes. Studies indicate that Indian forests store 1,083.81 MtC (wood only) in the year 1994 to 3,907.67 MtC (above -and belowground material) in the year 1993. In forest soil, total C storage is estimated 9,815.95 MtC as per 1994 forest stands under 19 ligneous species. Site-specific C estimates depend on stand composition, age, site quality and management. Estimated rate of C flux in selected Indian planted forests reveals that : (i) planted forests of short- rotation tree species with regular leaf shedding patterns have more capacity for C sequestering in litter which decomposes more rapidly than those with annual or bimodal leaf shedding patterns, and (ii) mixed planted forests of exotic and native species could be more efficient in sequestering C than the monocultures. This contribution reviews C sequestration in Indian forests at national level and site- specific situations, and elaborates some possible opportunities for sustainable C forestry.