Carbon Sequestration Potential of Macrophytes and Seasonal Carbon Input Assessment into the Hokersar Wetland, Kashmir

Abstract

Wetlands are the most effective terrestrial carbon sinks as their vegetation has high gross primary productivity. Species specific efficiency of wetland macrophytes for sequestering carbon, however, has not been studied well. This study highlights the carbon sequestration efficiency of twelve abundant macrophytes in Hokersar Wetland, Kashmir, India. The total dry biomass and the carbon (C) content were higher in post-summer than summer and winter seasons. In the selected macrophytes, C content was higher in the above-ground (AG) component than in the below-ground (BG) one. Among the twelve species studied, the C in the total dry biomass of Phragmites australis was highest followed by Sparganium erectum and Typha angustata. It was estimated that a total amount of carbon sequestered by twelve macrophytes was 0.85 Kg C m−2 yr.−1 of which marginal emergent macrophytes sequestered 0.73 Kg m−2 yr.−1, rooted floating types 0.08 Kg m−2 yr.−1 and submerged macrophytic species 0.042 Kg m−2 yr.−1 in Hokersar wetland ecosystem. This study will be helpful to refine our understanding about the role of macrophytes in carbon sequestration of wetlands and could also be explored in earning carbon credits in the global carbon market.