Abstract
Land use change activities have greatly affected the total ecosystem carbon stock (TECS) and also contribute to global change through emission of greenhouse gases. The present study assessed the change in vegetation biomass carbon stock (VBCS) and soil organic carbon stock (SOCS) following conversion in major land use sectors (agriculture, agroforestry, forest and plantation) in Mizoram, Northeast India. SOCS was the highest in agroforestry (50.85 Mg C ha-1) and the lowest in agriculture (33.99 Mg C ha-1). VBCS was the highest in plantation (131.66 Mg C ha-1) and the lowest in agriculture (7.44 Mg C ha-1). The highest positive TECS change rate was observed when agriculture was converted to plantation (6.61 Mg C ha-1·yr-1), while negative rate of change in carbon stock was observed following the establishment of agriculture from other land use. A positive rate of change was observed in both VBCS and SOCS with TECS rate of 3.58 Mg C ha-1·yr-1 when agriculture got converted to agroforestry. The absolute carbon stock change rates were higher in VBCS than SOCS signifying the importance to maintain tree based vegetation cover.
Highlights
IntroductionPast and current land use practices stand out as an indicator either to be carbon sinks or source [11]
A positive rate of change was observed in both vegetation biomass carbon stock (VBCS) and soil organic carbon stock (SOCS) with total ecosystem carbon stock (TECS) rate of 3.58 Mg C ha−1∙yr−1 when agriculture got converted to agroforestry
Studies on carbon stock changes associated with the wide range of prevailing land use types following conversions in Mizoram, Northeast India have been lacking behind and no importance was given to the carbon implications of various land uses before making land use change decisions
Summary
Past and current land use practices stand out as an indicator either to be carbon sinks or source [11] Carbon stock in both vegetation and soil have been reported to loss following conversion of primary forest to secondary forest [12] [13], and several other studies reported variations either a gain or loss of carbon stock associated with land use change in diverse ecosystems [14] [15] [16] [17]. Studies on carbon stock changes associated with the wide range of prevailing land use types following conversions in Mizoram, Northeast India have been lacking behind and no importance was given to the carbon implications of various land uses before making land use change decisions. The study further aims to monitor carbon pool dynamics following land use changes and provide scientific knowledge to support policy decision making for land use change planning and enhance the regional carbon stocks overall as an option for climate change mitigation
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