Biomass and carbon stocks of trees in tropical dry forest of East Godavari region, Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract

Assessment of biomass and carbon stock (CS) of trees was carried out in three selected study sites (four 0.25 ha [50 m × 50 m] plots in each site) in East Godavari region of Eastern Ghats. Aboveground biomass (AGB) was estimated by the non-harvest method by using allometric equations. The AGB ranged from 58.04 (site I) to 368.39 (site III) Mg/ha and the total CS of trees ranged from 44.51 to 218.84 Mg/ha. The highest CS accumulation in site III could be due to more soil moisture and abundant large diameter trees while the least was obtained in the site I could be due to relatively high human disturbance. Xylia xylocarpa was a dominant biomass and carbon assimilator in the site I and II, while Terminalia arjuna was the highest contributor in site III. The present study revealed that T. arjuna and X. xylocarpa are the vital tree species to endure and sink more carbon in tropical dry forest of East Godavari region under various disturbances.

Keywords

• Climate change
• Eastern Ghats
• carbon mitigation
• anthropogenic perturbations