Aboveground biomass and carbon stock assessment in the Eastern Himalaya foothills along the Indo-Bhutan border

ABSTRACT

Aboveground biomass (AGB) and the distribution of carbon stock was assessed in a swath of territory along the Indo-Bhutan border. This tract between Brahmaputra river’s floodplain and foothills of Eastern Himalayas, is a part of the Indo-Bhutan biodiversity hotspot. Using Landsat satellite data, the analysis assessed spatio-temporal landuse/landcover changes during 1989 and 2019. AGB and carbon stock were estimated using a forest inventory. Total AGB losses were 21.44 and 7.24 Mt in India and Bhutan respectively. Tree density ranged between 107–350 and 253–853 trees ha⁻¹ in India and Bhutan respectively and tended to decrease with increasing tree diameter. Anthocephalus Chinensis (76 trees ha⁻¹), Aphanamixis Polystachya (64), Syzygium Formosum (62) were the most dominant species in India while Quercus Spp (249 trees ha⁻¹), Abies densa (190), Rhodendron (155) dominated in Bhutan. AGB and carbon losses were more marked in India than Bhutan. Land cover changes were not uniformly spatially distributed throughout the study area and dense forests in India decreased at a rate seven times that of Bhutan’s. Consequently, AGB losses in India were three fold those of Bhutan’s.

KEYWORDS:

• Landuse change
• above ground biomass estimation
• biomass resource potential
• carbon stock
• cross border assessment
• Eastern Himalayan forest
• uncertainty

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The study was funded by the Centre for South East Asian Studies-Gauhati University (CSEASGU), Guwahati, India.

Notes on contributors

Kiran Sharma

Kiran Sharma received a PhD from the Department of Geography, Gauhati University, India. Her research interests include land change science, biomass estimation, remote sensing and geographic information systems. Her work has largely been on north east India.

Anup Saikia

Anup Saikia teaches at the Department of Geography, Gauhati University, India and has an interest in understanding human-environment interactions in the management of biological resources in north east India. His research mostly focuses on land change science, GIS, and protected areas.

Pankaj Thapa

Pankaj Thapa was Associate Professor in the Department of Geography, Sherubtse College, Kanglung, Royal University of Bhutan from 2002 to 2021. He is currently a freelance researcher and academic consultant based out of Kanglung, Bhutan with expertise in geospatial data analysis.

Bimal K. Chettry

Bimal K. Chettry teaches at the Department of Environment and Life Sciences, Sherubtse College, Kanglung, Royal University of Bhutan. He is interested in using eco-taxonomical, geospatial and omic studies to characterize plant species. He focuses on molecular characterization of rare, endemic and medicinal plant species.