Inventory of Vegetation and Assessment of Carbon Storage Capacity towards a Low Carbon Campus: a Case Study of Universiti Tun Husein Onn Malaysia, Johor Malaysia

Abstract

Carbon dioxide, a vital greenhouse gas plays a key role in Earth's carbon cycle, a concentration above ambient temperature results in global warming. High CO2 emission in Universiti Tun Husein Onn Malaysia is due to an increase in a number of automobiles and other greenhouse gases released from building facilities and nearby industries. A study was carried out on 22 common trees planted within the campus on the estimated amount of CO2 sequestered. Estimation of carbon storage of trees was obtained through the assessments of standing biomass as well measurement of their photosynthetic capacity. Results indicated that Spathodea campanulata has the highest CO2 absorption (14.40 µmol/ m-2/s-1) followed by Acacia mangium (14.03 µmol/m-2/s-1), and Cananga odorata with (12.80 µmol m-2 s-1). Alstonia scholaris has the highest aboveground standing biomass accumulation of 106.94 kg, followed by Samanea saman (20.83 kg), and Acacia mangium (19.43 kg). The total biomass accumulated of all the tree species is 200.03 kg. Therefore, species of trees in Universiti Tun Husein Onn Malaysia main campus have the potential to absorb a significant amount of CO2 from the atmosphere thereby contributing to mitigating-the localized effects of global warming.

Keywords

• Carbon dioxide sequestration
• tropical vegetation
• global warming
• climate change
• biomass