Population structure, soil characteristics and carbon stock of the regenerating banj oak forests in Almora, Central Himalaya

We calculated the rates at which CO2 is being sequestered in two different forest types of Himalaya. For our comparative study we took the degraded and non-degraded sites of pine and oak forests in Kumaun Central Himalaya. The Van Panchayats (VPs) or Community Forests are managing the nondegraded forest sites for centuries, and from this research we have come to know that the sequestration of CO2 in these non-degraded forests is significantly greater than the degraded forests. The paper recommends the significance of community forests in both Uttarakhand and the world, and advocates that if we want to fight against global warming, we must encourage the community forests and that the people living in severe poverty in these forest areas who become the unsung heroes in the war against global warming, must be paid in lieu of saving their forests, which ultimately become the sink for increased CO2 worldwide. This business or ‘carbon trading' will indeed evolve as the panacea against the war against global warming. Key words: Carbon sequestration, community forests, Van Panchayats, green house gases, global warming, carbon trading. doi: 10.3126/eco.v15i0.1946 ECOPRINT 15: 75-81, 2008

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A Carbon Management Diagram for Oak-hickory Forests in Southern Ohio

Northern Journal of Applied Forestry ◽

10.1093/njaf/28.3.161 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 28 (3) ◽

pp. 161-165 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Roger A. Williams ◽

Yuhua Tao

Keyword(s):

Carbon Stock ◽

Basal Area ◽

Site Index ◽

Tree Size ◽

Total Carbon ◽

Site Quality ◽

Oak Forests ◽

Carbon Management ◽

Tree Diameter ◽

Total Carbon Stock

Abstract A carbon management diagram for use in oak-hickory forests in southern Ohio has been developed to allow easier quantification of total forest carbon stock. The total carbon stock is positively correlated to basal area and average stand diameter but poorly correlated to the number of trees per acre. The total amount of carbon stored in these forests is going to be influenced by age and site quality to the extent that age and site influence basal area and the average tree size. Accordingly, not all stands considered to be fully to overstocked store the most carbon. Rather, it is a combination of basal area and average tree size that determines the total carbon stored, with the carbon stock in the forest increasing with an increase in both basal area and average tree diameter. Examples illustrating the use of the diagram are presented for two oak forests on oak site indexes 60 and 80. Both forests are overstocked at age 100 years, but the forest on site index 60 stores 77 tons/ac of total carbon compared with 103 tons/ac on site index 80.

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Plant diversity and regeneration potential of three different forests of Central Himalaya

Current World Environment ◽

10.12944/cwe.13.1.11 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 113-123 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Vijyeta Manral ◽

Kirtika Padalia ◽

Himani Karki

Keyword(s):

Population Structure ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Well Being ◽

Pine Forest ◽

Forest Community ◽

Oak Forest ◽

Mature Trees ◽

The Poor ◽

Chir Pine ◽

Banj Oak

Plant diversity is essential for human survival and economic well-being and also for the ecosystem function and stability. The total number of accessible seedlings and saplings in a forest community indicates the regeneration status/potential of a species or a forest. In this study, composition, diversity and population structure of three different forests (Banj oak, Chir-pine and Mixed oak-pine) was assessed around Nainital town of Uttarakhand state. Species richness and diversity were maximum in Banj-oak forest (9 species and 1.970, respectively) and minimum in Chir-pine forest (4 species and 0.634, respectively). The total tree density ranged from 1670 (Chir pine forest) to 1830 ind.ha-1 (Mixed oak pine forest) and the total basal area ranged from 87.22 (Mixed oak pine forest) to 208.37 m2ha-1 (Banj oak forest). Population structure revealed dominancy of mature trees and less number of seedlings evidently indicated the poor regeneration across the forests type. Viability of seeds, disturbances brought by frequent fire incidence, erosion of soil and water, uncontrolled grazing by animals, lopping/cuttings of under canopy plant species by villagers for fuel and fodder are the possible causes of the poor regeneration of the forests.

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Altitudinal variation in plant community, population structure and carbon stock of Quercus semecarpifolia Sm. forest in Kumaun Himalaya

Journal of Environmental Biology ◽

10.22438/jeb/43/1/mrn-2003 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 43 (1) ◽

pp. 133-146

Author(s):

A. Fartyal ◽

◽

K. Khatri ◽

K. Bargali ◽

S.S. Bargali ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Population Structure ◽

Species Richness ◽

High Altitude ◽

Plant Community ◽

Carbon Stock ◽

Forest Stand ◽

Altitudinal Variation ◽

Regeneration Status ◽

Tree Layer ◽

Quercus Semecarpifolia

Aim: To study the impact of altitudinal variation on plant community composition, structure, dispersion and regeneration status of Quercus semecarpifolia forest in Kumaun Himalaya. Methodology: Along the altitudinal gradient, the forest stands between 2400 and 2610 m asl were selected at low, mid and high altitude. The phyto-sociological analysis was carried by laying ten quadrats of 10m × 10m at each site. Soil samples were collected with the help of soil corer from two depths. Various ecological indices and population structure were investigated for each forest stand and regeneration status of forest was predicted by the population size of seedlings, saplings and trees. Tree biomass was estimated using allomatric equations and carbon stock was determined by multiplying biomass of species to factor 0.475. Results: With increasing altitude the number of tree species decreased and the shrub species richness increased, while herb species showed a unimodel pattern. Q. semecarpifolia was the dominant tree species at all the three sites with the IVI values of 220.14, 255.22 and 286.23 at LA, MA and HA, respectively. A complete absence of Q. semecarpifolia seedlings indicated no regeneration in low and high altitude stands while low proportion of seedlings in mid altitude forest stand indicated poor regeneration. Soil was acidic (pH 5.66-5.86), with higher silt content and showed decreasing pattern in physico-chemical properties with increasing altitude. The biomass of tree layer ranged from 871.49 to 1050.17 t ha-1. The tree layer carbon stock was maximum in high altitude forest (498.84 t ha-1) which was largely contributed by bole, stump roots and branches. Interpretation: Variation in species richness, distribution pattern and regeneration potential is related to site characteristics governed by altitude and require various efforts to conserve and protect these forests to check ecosystem imbalance.

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