Carbon Stock in Community Managed Hill Sal (Shorea robusta) Forests of Central Nepal

Abstract

Community forests of developing countries are eligible to participate in the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) scheme. For this, estimation of carbon stock and the sequestration is essential. The carbon stock in the living biomass of nine community managed Shorea robusta forests of the mid hill regions of central Nepal (managed for 4–29 yr) were estimated. The carbon stock of trees and shrubs was estimated using an allometric equation while the biomass of herbaceous vegetation was estimated by the harvest method. The carbon stock in the living biomass of the studied forests ranged from 70–183 Mg ha⁻¹(mean: 120 Mg ha⁻¹) and it increased with increasing soil organic carbon. However, the carbon stock did not vary significantly with species richness and litter cover. The biomass and carbon stock in the forests managed for >20 yr were significantly higher than in the forests managed for < 20 yr. The carbon stock increased with the management duration (p < .05) with sequestration rate of 2.6 Mg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. The local management has had positive effects on the carbon stock of the forests and thus the community forests have been acting as a sink of the atmospheric CO₂. Therefore, the community managed forests of Nepal are eligible to participate in the REDD+ scheme.

KEYWORDS:

• allometric equation
• biomass carbon stock
• carbon accounting
• management duration
• Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+)

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University Grants Commission, Kathmandu, Nepal, under Faculty Research Grants.