Abstract
In recent decades, degradation and loss of the world’s forest ecosystems have been key contributors to biodiversity loss and future climate change. This article analyzes plant diversity, biomass, carbon sequestration potential (CSP), and the net primary productivity (NPP) of four vegetation types viz., Dense mixed forest (DMF); Open mixed forest (OMF); Teak plantation (TP), and Sal mixed forest (SMF) in the dry tropical forest ecosystem of central India through remote sensing techniques together with physical ground observations during 2013–2018. The total C storage in trees varied from 16.02 to 47.15 Mg ha−1 in studied vegetation types with the highest in DMF and lowest in OMF. The total C storage in stem wood, branches, and foliage falls in the range of 52.93–78.30%, 9.49–22.99%, and 3.31–12.89% respectively. The total standing biomass varied from 83.77 to 111.21 Mg ha−1 and these variations are due to different vegetation types, with the highest in DMF followed by TP, SMF while the lowest was estimated in OMF. The net primary productivity (NPP) [aboveground (AG) + belowground (BG)] varied from 7.61 to 9.94 Mg ha−1 yr−1 with mean values of 8.74 Mg ha−1 yr−1 where AG shares a maximum contribution of 77.66%. The total biomass production was distributed from 64.09 to 82.91% in AG and 17.08–35.91% in BG components. The present study outlines that the studied forest ecosystem has the substantial potential of carbon sequestration and a great possibility of mitigating local and global climate change.
Highlights
In recent decades, there is a growing concern among the scientific community, researchers, environmentalists, foresters, and policy developers around the globe regarding the sustainable management of natural resources (Kumar et al, 2021a,b)
The structural analysis shows that the density of various forests varied from 467.5 to 652.5 stems ha−1 and a maximum in Sal mixed forest (SMF) followed by Dense mixed forest (DMF), Teak plantation (TP), and a minimum in Open mixed forest (OMF)
The present study showed that C storage, biomass, and net primary productivity (NPP) were positively correlated with Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Advance Vegetation Index (AVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Very Dense Vegetation Index (VDVI), NDMI, and Ratio Vegetation Index (RVI) indices while NDVI was significantly correlated
Summary
There is a growing concern among the scientific community, researchers, environmentalists, foresters, and policy developers around the globe regarding the sustainable management of natural resources (Kumar et al, 2021a,b). The current study was designed to objectively assess biomass production along with land use pattern, plant diversity, structure and composition of plant communities, and carbon sequestration potential, in tropical dry forests (TDF) of the protected area of the Achanakmaar Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve (AABR) in central India, using remote sensing techniques assisted by ground-based direct measurements. To scale up the assessment at the landscape level, satellite data coupled with sampled ground verification gives more reliable information more economically and in less time. It helps the forest managers make suitable plans and design the required interventions as a management strategy for the improvement of protected habitats like biosphere reserves
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