Estimation of Carbon Stock in the Chir Pine (Pinus roxburghii Sarg.) Plantation Forest of Kathmandu Valley, Central Nepal

• Published in: Journal of forest and environmental science Vol. 36; no. 1; pp. 37 - 46
• Main Authors: Sharma, Krishna Prasad, Bhatta, Suresh Prashad, Khatri, Ganga Bahadur, Pajiyar, Avinash, Joshi, Daya Krishna
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: CO_2$ stock; community forest; regeneration; d-d curve; climate change
• ISSN: 2288-9744; 2288-9752

Vegetation carbon sequestration and regeneration are the two major parameters of forest research. In this study, we analyzed the vegetation carbon stock and regeneration of community-managed pine plantation of Kathmandu, central Nepal. Vegetation data were collected from 40 circular plots of 10 m radius (for the tree) and 1m radius (for seedling) applying a stratified random sampling and nested quadrat method. The carbon stock was estimated by Chave allometric model and estimated carbon stock was converted into CO2 equivalents. Density-diameter (d-d) curve was also prepared to check the regeneration status and stability of the plantation. A d-d curve indicates the good regeneration status of the forest with a stable population in each size class. Diversity of trees was very low, only two tree species Pinus roxburghii and Eucalyptus citriodora occurred in the sample plots. Pine was the dominant tree in terms of density, basal area, biomass, carbon stock and CO2 stock than the eucalyptus. The basal area, carbon stock and CO2 stock of forest was 33±1.0 ㎡ ha-1, 108±5.0 Mg ha-1 and 394±18 Mg ha-1, respectively. Seedling and tree density of the plantation was 4,965 ha-1 and 339 ha-1 respectively. The forest carbon stock showed a positive relationship with biomass, tree diameter, height and basal area but no relationship with tree density. Canopy cover and tree diameter have a negative effect on seedling density and regeneration. In conclusion, the community forest has a stable population in each size class, sequestering a significant amount of carbon and CO2 emitted from densely populated Kathmandu metro city as the forest biomass hence have a potentiality to mitigate the global climate change.