Journal of Forest and Environmental Science

Institute of Forest Science, kangwon National University (강원대학교 산림과학연구소)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Biomass, Primary Nutrient and Carbon Stock in a Sub-Himalayan Forest of West Bengal, India

  • Shukla, Gopal (Department of Forestry, Uttar Banga Krishi Vishwavidyalaya) ;
  • Chakravarty, Sumit (Department of Forestry, Uttar Banga Krishi Vishwavidyalaya)
  • Received : 2017.04.19
  • Accepted : 2017.08.21
  • Published : 2018.02.28
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Quantitative information on biomass and available nutrients are essential for developing sustainable forest management strategies to regulate atmospheric carbon. An attempt was made at Chilapatta Reserve Forest in Duars region of West Bengal to quantify its above and below ground carbon along with available "N", "P" and "K" in the soil. Stratified random nested quadrats were marked for soil, biomass and litter sampling. Indirect or non-destructive procedures were employed for biomass estimation. The amount of these available nutrients and organic carbon quantified in soil indicates that the forest soil is high in organic carbon and available "K" and medium in phosphorus and nitrogen. The biomass, soil carbon and total carbon (soil C＋C in plant biomass) in the forest was 1,995.98, 75.83 and $973.65Mg\;ha^{-1}$. More than 90% of the carbon accumulated in the forest was contributed by the trees. The annual litter production of the forest was $5.37Mg\;ha^{-1}$. Carbon accumulation is intricately linked with site quality factors. The estimated biomass of $1,995.98Mg{\cdot}ha^{-1}$ clearly indicates this. The site quality factor i.e. tropical moist deciduous with optimum availability of soil nutrients, heavy precipitation, high mean monthly relative humidity and optimum temperature range supported luxuriant growth which was realized as higher biomass accumulation and hence higher carbon accumulated.

Keywords

References

  1. Alamgir M, Al-Amin M. 2008. Allometric models to estimate biomass organic carbon stock in forest vegetation. J For Res 19: 101-106. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-008-0017-4
  2. Alves D, Soares JVS, Amaral EMK, Mello SAS, Almeida O, Fernandez S, Silveira AM. 1997. Biomass of primary and secondary vegetation in Rondonia, western Brazilian Amazon. Glob Change Biol 3: 451-462. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2486.1997.00081.x
  3. Anonymous. 1997. Estimating biomass and biomass change of tropical forests: A Primer, Rome, Italy: FAO Forestry Paper. 134 pp.
  4. Anonymous. 2001. 4th Working Plan for the Forests of Cooch Behar district and Jalpaiguri district (Part) Comprising Cooch Behar Forest Division and Cooch Behar S. F. Division. Volume I, 2000-01 to 2009-10. Divisional Forest Officer, Working Plans (North) Division, Darjeeling, pp.180.
  5. Baruah TC, Barthakur HP. 1997. A text book of soil analysis. Vikas Publishing House Pvt Ltd., New Delhi, 334 pp.
  6. Behera MD, Srivastava S, Kushwaha SPS, Roy PS. 2000. Stratification and mapping of Taxus baccata L. bearing forests in Talle Valley using remote sensing and GIS. Curr Sci 78: 1008-1013.
  7. Bhatnagar HP. 1965. Soils from different quality sal (Shorea robusta) forests of Uttar Pradesh. Trop Ecol 6: 56-62.
  8. Binkly D, Vitousek PM. 1989. Soil nutrient availability. In: Plant physiological ecology: field methods and instrumentation (Pearcey RW, Ehleringer JR, Mooney HA, Rundel PW, eds.). London Chapman and Hall, London, pp. 75-96.
  9. Brown S. 1997. Estimating biomass and biomass change of tropical forests: a primer. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, pp 55-134.
  10. Brown S, Gillespie AJR, Lugo AE. 1989. Biomass estimation methods for tropical forests with application to forest inventory data. For Sci 35: 881-902.
  11. Brown S, Lugo AE. 1982. The storage and production of organic matter in tropical forest and their role in the global carbon cycle. Biotropica 14: 161-187. https://doi.org/10.2307/2388024
  12. Buchmann N. 2000. Biotic and abiotic factors regulating soil respiration rates in Picea abies stands. Soil Biol Biochem 32: 1625-1635. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-0717(00)00077-8
  13. Chacon N, Dezzeo N. 2007. Litter decomposition in primary forest and adjacent fire disturbed forests in the Gran Sabana, southern Venezuela. Biol Fertil Soil 43: 815-821. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-007-0180-3
  14. Champion HG, Seth SK. 1968. A revised survey of the forest types of India. Manager of Publications, New Delhi, 404 pp.
  15. Chavan KN, Kenjale RY, Chavan AS. 1995. Effect of Forest Tree Species on Properties of Lateritic Soil. J Indian Soc Soil Sci 43: 43-46.
  16. Chen WJ, Black TA, Yang PC, Barr AG, Neumann HH, Nesic Z, Blanken PD, Novak MD, Eley J, Ketler RJ, Cuenca R. 1999. Effect of climatic variety on the annual carbon sequestration by a boreal aspen forest. Glob Change Biol 5: 41-53. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2486.1998.00201.x
  17. Chhabra A, Dhadwal VK. 2005. Forest soil organic carbon pool: an estimate and review of Indian studies. Indian For 131: 201-214.
  18. Clark KL, Gholz HL, Moncriff JB, Cropley F, Loescher HW. 1999. Environmental controls over net exchanges of carbon dioxide from contrasting Florida ecosystems. Ecol Appl 9: 936-948. https://doi.org/10.1890/1051-0761(1999)009[0936:ECONEO]2.0.CO;2
  19. Contractor RM, Badnur VP. 1996. Effect of Forest Vegetation on Properties of a Vertisols. J Indian Soc Soil Sci 44: 510-511.
  20. Cuevas E, Brown S, Lugo AE. 1991. Above and below ground organic matter storage and production in a tropical pine plantation and a paired broadleaf secondary forest. Plant Soil 135: 257-268. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00010914
  21. Dadhwal VK, Pandya N, Vora AB. 1998. Carbon cycle for Indian forest ecosystem: a preliminary estimate. In: Global Change Studied: Scientific Results from ISRO GBP (Subbaraya BH, Rao DP, Desai PS, Manikiam B, Rajaratnam P, eds). ISRO, Bangalore, pp 411-430.
  22. Das AP, Ghosh C, Bhowmick D. 2003. Project Report on Estimation of Palatable Biomass in Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary with special reference to Rhinoceros unicornis L. Department of Botany, University of North Bengal, Siliguri, West Bengal, India.
  23. de M. Sa JC, Cerri CC, Dick WA, Lal R, Venzke Filho SP, Piccolo MC, Feigl BE. 2001. Organic matter dynamics and carbon sequestration rates for a tillage chronosequence in Brazilian Oxisol. Soil Sci Soc Am J 65: 1486-1499. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2001.6551486x
  24. Fan SM, Goulden ML, Munger JW, Daube BC, Bakwin PS, Wofsy SC, Amthor JS, Fitzjarrald DR, Moore KE, Moore TR. 1995. Environmental controls on the photosynthesis and respiration of a boreal lichen woodland: a growing season of whole-ecosystem exchange measurements by eddy correlation. Oecologia 102: 443-452. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00341356
  25. Gupta JP, Sharma MP, Gupta GD. 2001. Characterization of Kandi Belt Soils of Jammu Region as Affected by Different Land Use Patterns. J Indian Soc Soil Sci 49: 770-773.
  26. Haase R. 1999. Litterfall and nutrient return in seasonally flooded and non-flooded forest of the Pantanal, Mato Grosso, Brazil. For Ecol Manag 117: 129-147. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(98)00477-0
  27. Hashimoto T, Miura S, Ishizuka S. 2009. Temperature controls temporal variation in soil CO2 efflux in a secondary beech forest in Appi Highlands, Japan. J For Res 14: 44-50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-008-0096-2
  28. Hollinger DY, Kelliher FM, Byers JN, Hunt JE, Mcseveny TM, Weir PL. 1994. Carbon dioxide exchange between an undisturbed old-growth temperate forest and the atmosphere. Ecology 75: 134-150. https://doi.org/10.2307/1939390
  29. Hollinger DY, Kelliher FM, Schulze ED, Bauer G, Ameth A, Byers JN, Hunt JE, Mcsevny TM, Kobak KI, Milukova I, Sogatchev A, Tatarinov F, Valargin A, Ziegler W, Vygodskaya NN. 1998. Forest atmosphere carbon dioxide exchange in eastern Siberia. Agric For Metrol 90: 291-306. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1923(98)00057-4
  30. Jackson ML. 1967. Soil chemical analysis. Prentice Hall Inc., New Delhi.
  31. Jana BK, Biswas S, Majumdar M, Roy PK, Mazumdar A. 2009. Carbon superstation rate and above ground biomass, carbon potential of four young species. J Ecol Nat Environ 1: 15-24.
  32. Jha MN, Gupta MK, Saxena A, Kumar R. 2003. Soil organic carbon store in different forest in India. Indian For 129: 715-724.
  33. Johnston AE. 1986. Soil organic matter, effects on soil and crops. Soil Use Manag 2: 97-105. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-2743.1986.tb00690.x
  34. Koul DN. 2004. Carbon sequestration estimates of various land usesin Terai Zone of West Bengal. M. Sc. Thesis. Uttar Banga KrishiViswavidyalaya, Pundibari, West Bengal, pp 65.
  35. Koul DN, Panwar P. 2008. Prioritizing land-management options for carbon sequestration potential. Curr Sci 95: 658-663.
  36. Koul DN, Shukla G, Panwar P, Chakravarty S. 2011. Status of soil carbon sequestration under different land use systems in Terai Zone of West Bengal. Environ We Int J Sci Tech 6: 95-100.
  37. MacDicken KG. 1997. A guide to monitoring carbon storage in forestry and agroforestry projects. Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development.
  38. Magill AH, Aber JD. 2000. Dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen relationships in forest litter as affected by nitrogen deposition. Soil Biol Biochem 32: 603-613. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-0717(99)00187-X
  39. Nagendra H, Gadgil M. 1999. Biodiversity assessment at multi scale: linking remotely sensed data with field information. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 96: 9154-9158. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.96.16.9154
  40. Odum EP. 1971. Fundamentals of Ecology. 3rd ed. W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia.
  41. Pande PK. 1986. Litter production and decomposition, mineral release and biochemical diversity of four forest stands at FRI demonstration area. Ph. D thesis. Garhwal University, Srinagar (Garhwal), pp 152.
  42. Pande PK. 1999. Comparative vegetation analysis and Sal (Shorea robusta) regeneration in relation to their disturbance magnitude in some Sal forests. Trop Ecol 40: 51-61.
  43. Pande PK. 2001. Litter nutrient dynamics of Shorea robusta Gaertn. Plantation at Doon Valley (Uttaranchal), India. Indian For 127: 980-994.
  44. Pande PK, Meshram PB, Banerjee SK. 2002. Litter production and nutrient return in tropical dry deciduous teak forests of Satpura plateau in central India. Trop Ecol 43: 337-344.
  45. Pande PK, Sharma SC. 1993. Litter decomposition in some plantation (India). Ann For 1: 90-101.
  46. Pandit PK. 1996. Management plan of Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary (Vols. I-III). Wildlife Circle, Department of Forests, Govt. of West Bengal.
  47. Pandit PK, Ghosh C, Das AP. 2004. Non-timber forest products of Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary: an assessment. Indian For 130: 1169-1185.
  48. Park JH, Kalbitz K, Matzner E. 2002. Resource control on the production of dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen in a deciduous forest floor. Soil Biol Biochem 34: 813-822. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-0717(02)00011-1
  49. Pastor J, Aber JD, McClaugherty CA, Melillo JM. 1984. Above ground production and N and P cycling along a nitrogen mineralization gradient on Blackhawk island, Wisconsin. Ecology 65: 256-268. https://doi.org/10.2307/1939478
  50. Pastor J. 1987. Successional changes in nitrogen availability as a potential factor contributing to spruce declines in boreal North America. Can J For Res 17: 1394-1400. https://doi.org/10.1139/x87-216
  51. Paudel S, Sah JP. 2003. Physiochemical characteristic of soil in tropical Sal (Shorea robusta Gaertn.) forests in eastern Nepal. Him J Sci 1: 107-110.
  52. Paul SC. 2004. Land use effects on soil characteristics of Terai region of West Bengal. M. Sc. thesis, Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, West Bengal, India, pp 92.
  53. Pibumrung P, Gajaseni N, Popan A. 2008. Profile of carbon stocks in forest, reforestation and agricultural land, Northern Thailand. J For Res 19: 11-18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-008-0002-y
  54. Piper CS. 1950. Soil and Plant Analysis. The University of Adelaide Press, Adelaide, Australia, 368 pp.
  55. Prescott CE. 2002. The influence of the forest canopy on nutrient cycling. Tree Physiol 22: 1193-1200. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/22.15-16.1193
  56. Qualls RG, Haines BL. 1991. Geochemistry of dissolved organic nutrients in water percolating through a forest ecosystem. Soil Sci Soc Am J 55: 1112-1123. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1991.03615995005500040036x
  57. Raina AK, Jha MN, Pharasi SC. 2001. Forest soil: vegetation relationship in Mussoorie forest division (Uttaranchal). Indian For 127: 883-890.
  58. Rajagopal K, Buvaneswaran C, Subramanian V, George M. 2005. Nutrient cycling in young teak plantation I-Restitution of nutrients through litter and rain wash. Indian For 131: 221-228.
  59. Ren YH, Cao M, Tang JW, Tang Y, Zhang JH. 1999. A comparative study on litter fall dynamics in a seasonal rain forest and a rubber plantations in Xishuangbanna, SW China. Acta Phytoecol Sin 23: 418-425.
  60. Reuss JO, Innis GS. 1977. A grassland nitrogen flow simulation model. Ecology 58: 379-388. https://doi.org/10.2307/1935612
  61. Sagwal SS. 1995. Forest Ecology of India. Pointer Publishers, Jaipur, pp 87-111.
  62. Schroeder P, Brown S, Mo J, Birdsey R, Cieszewski C. 1997. Biomass estimation for temperate broadleaf forests of the United States using inventory data. For Sci 43: 424-434.
  63. Scott NA, Binkley D. 1997. Foliage litter quality and annual net N mineralization: comparison across North American forest sites. Oecologia 111: 151-159. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004420050219
  64. Shadangi DK, Nath V. 2006. Litter decomposition in Eucalyptus and Pines plantations and natural Sal forests related to micro-arthropods in different season in Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh. Indian For 132: 420-428.
  65. Sharma RK, Sankhayan PL, Hofstad O. 2008. Forest biomass density, utilization and production dynamic in a western Himalayan watershed. J For Res 19: 171-180. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-008-0032-5
  66. Sheikh MA, Kumar M. 2010. Nutrient status and economic analysis of soils in oak and pine forests in Garhwal Himalaya. J Am Sci 6: 117-122.
  67. Shukla G, Biswas R, Das AP, Chakravarty S. 2014. Plant diversity at Chilapatta reserve forest of Terai Duars in sub-humid tropical foothills of Indian eastern Himalayas. J For Res 25: 591-596. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-014-0452-3
  68. Singh G, Rathod TR, Chouhan S. 2004. Growth, biomass production and the associated changes in soil properties in Acacia tortilis plantation in relation to stand density in Indian arid zone. Indian For 130: 605-614.
  69. Singh JS, Gupta SR. 1977. Plant decomposition and soil respiration in terrestrial ecosystems. Bot Rev 43: 449-528. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02860844
  70. Swamy SL, Puri S, Singh AK. 2003. Growth, biomass, carbon storage and nutrient distribution in Gmelina arborea Roxb. stands on red lateritic soils in central India. Bioresour Technol 90: 109-126. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0960-8524(03)00120-2
  71. Upadhyay SD, Singh VP. 1981. Microbial turnover of organic matter in litter decomposition in semi-arid grassland. Pedobiol 21: 100-109.
  72. Vitousek PM, Sanford RL Jr. 1986. Nutrient cycling in moist tropical forest. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 17: 137-167. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.es.17.110186.001033
  73. Wang J, Huang JH. 2001. Comparison of major nutrient release patterns in leaf litter decomposition in warm temperate zone of China. Acta Phytoecol Sin 25: 375-380.
  74. Waring RH, Running SW. 1998. Forest Ecosystems. Analysis at Multiple Scale. Academic Press, New York.
  75. Woomer PL. 1993. The impact of cultivation of carbon fluxes in woody savannas of Southern Africa. Water, Air and Soil Pollution 70: 403-412. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01105011
  76. Xiao-wen D, Ying L, Shi-jie H. 2009. Carbon and nitrogen dynamics in early stages of forest litter decomposition as affected by nitrogen addition. J For Res 20: 111-116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-009-0020-4
  77. Zhang N, Zhao YS, Yu GR. 2009b. Simulated annual carbon fluxes of grassland ecosystems in extremely arid conditions. Ecol Res 24: 185-206. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-008-0497-x
  78. Zhang QF, Song YC, Wu HQ, You WH. 1999. Dynamics of litter amount and its decomposition in different successional stage of evergreen broad-leaved forest in Tiantong, Zhejiang, Province. Acta Phytoecol Sin 23: 250-255.
  79. Zhang ZS, Li XR, Liu LC, Jia RL, Zhang JG, Wang T. 2009a. Distribution, biomass, and dynamics of roots in a revegetated stand of Caragana korshinskii in the Tengger Desert, northwestern China. J Plant Res 122: 109-119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-008-0196-2