Carbon concentration in the Hazarikhil forests of the Chittagong North forest division, Bangladesh

Abstract

Afforestation/Reforestation and conserving the forests are the low-cost measures to climate change mitigation. However, loss of forest biomass through over-extraction affects the overall carbon concentration in the forests. The present study conducted its attempts in the Hazarikhil forest under the Chittagong North forest division of Bangladesh with the primary objectives of getting a gain and loss quantification of carbon. The total highest biomass density, 348.93 ± 48.00 tha−1, was in the Acacia auriculiformis stands, while it was the lowest, 196.36 ± 32.54 tha−1 in the Senna siamea stands. The total biomass-carbon density was the highest, 174.47 ± 24.00 tCha−1, in the A. auriculiformis stands, while it was the lowest, 98.18 ± 5.45 tCha−1, in the S. siamea stands. The highest biomass loss, 10.65 ± 0.45 tha−1 yr−1, was in the A. auriculiformis stands while it was the lowest, 4.48 ± 0.87 tha−1 yr−1 in Chukrasia tabularis stands. Soil organic carbon stock was the highest, 19.10 ± 0.91 tCha−1 and 57.31 ± 2.72 tCha−1, in the Tectona grandis stands for both 0–10 cm soil depth and 0–30 cm soil depth, respectively. The lowest, 6.66 ± 1.22 tCha−1 and 19.97 ± 3.54 tCha−1, were in the S. siamea stands. However, the total of soil organic carbon and biomass-carbon was the highest, 191.13 ± 23.99 tCha−1 and 224.45 ± 24.13 tCha−1 in the A. auriculiformis stands for both 0–10 cm and 0–30 cm soil depth, respectively. The lowest, 104.84 ± 21.69 tCha−1 and 118.15 ± 24.56 tCha−1, total carbon was in the S. siamea stands for both the soil depths, respectively. The findings of the study can be useful to climate change mitigation practitioners in Bangladesh.

Keywords

• tree species
• carbon sequestration
• aboveground biomass
• belowground biomass
• soil organic carbon