Abstract

Quantification of carbon stocks is critical to evaluate the potential of an ecosystem to mitigate the impact of global climate change in the REDD + scenario. Present research project was designed to gauge the sequestered carbon in Chir Pine (Pinus roxburghii) dominated forests in the foothills of the western Himalayan region of Kashmir which constitute a significant regional carbon pool. The study outcomes revealed an average carbon stock value of 94.3 Mg/ha from which 68 Mg/ha was shared by soil organic carbon (SOC); whereas average biomass carbon share was 26.3 Mg/ha. P. roxburghii was the most noteworthy species containing an average carbon stock value of 5.93 Mg/ha followed by Quercus incana (3.59 Mg/ha) and Olea cuspidata (2.26 Mg/ha). Average forest biomass was chronicled as 52.5 Mg/ha from which tree biomass was 49.34 Mg/ha. Shrub and herb biomass contributed 1.95 and 0.53 Mg/ha correspondingly whereas the Leaf litter and deadwood necromass produced an average of 0.67 Mg/ha. Ordination analysis revealed that the forest carbon stocks were significantly influenced by the species composition, structural attributes as well as anthropogenic disturbances. Current study has resulted in generating a standard baseline dataset of the regional carbon stocks with diverse implications for sustainable carbon management in REDD + perspective.

摘要

碳储量的量化对于评估生态系统在 REDD+ 情景中减轻全球气候变化影响的潜力至关重要。目前的研究项目旨在测量克什米尔西部喜马拉雅地区山麓的赤松（Pinus roxburghii）占主导地位的森林中的固碳，这些森林构成了重要的区域碳库。研究结果显示平均碳储量为 94.3 毫克/公顷，其中 68 毫克/公顷由土壤有机碳 (SOC) 共享；而平均生物质碳份额为 26.3 毫克/公顷。P. roxburghii是最值得注意的物种，其平均碳储量为 5.93 Mg/ha，其次是Quercus incana（3.59 Mg/ha）和Olea cuspidata(2.26 毫克/公顷)。平均森林生物量记录为 52.5 毫克/公顷，其中树木生物量为 49.34 毫克/公顷。灌木和草本生物量相应地贡献了 1.95 和 0.53 毫克/公顷，而落叶和枯木死木块产生的平均为 0.67 毫克/公顷。排序分析表明，森林碳储量受物种组成、结构属性和人为干扰的显着影响。目前的研究已经产生了区域碳储量的标准基线数据集，从 REDD + 的角度来看，对可持续碳管理具有不同的影响。