Carbon stock dynamics in a disturbed tropical forest ecosystem of Central India: Strategies for achieving carbon neutrality

Abstract

Anthropogenic land use changes in the vicinity of forest catchments are explicitly responsible for the deforestation and degradation of tropical forest thereby altering the carbon (C) balance under rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Thus, strategic mitigation measures are required to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. It becomes imperative to understand the impact of land cover conversion on the functioning of tropical forests and to determine the carbon dynamics. The present study examined the land cover changes (LUC) in dry tropical ecosystem of Central India during the last two decades and assessed its influence on the forest biomass, litter crop, and C stocks. Geospatial techniques coupled with ground measurements were employed in the study. The total biomass, vegetative C stocks and soil C were estimated as 64 to 338.3 Mg ha−1, 26.4 to 131.1 Mg C/ha and 24.6 to 50.2 Mg C/ha respectively. In the past decades (2000–2020), about 1851.8 ha of forest constituting 15.1% of the total area under study was lost (mainly to Agriculture) under open mixed forest, moderately mixed forest and mixed teak forest. The study demonstrated that forests of the studied region behave as a potential C source, which accounted for a net loss of 59 gigagram carbon (Gg C) equivalent to 216 Gg CO2eq. Besides, discussed three viable scenarios of restoration to offset C emissions and to achieve C neutral landscape by 2030. The conservation and restoration of 26–85% degraded forests (open mixed forest and moderately mixed dense forests), use of agroforestry on 1/5th of existing agricultural lands, or implementation of regenerative agricultural practices in 30% of the area will compensate for net losses, while attaining C neutrality. Further, the finding of this study helps to understand the climatic extremes as per the commitments of Paris Agreement, 2015 and Glasgow Pact, 2021.

Keywords

• Decarbonization
• Greenhouse gases
• REDD+
• Paris agreement
• UNFCCC
• Forest types