Diversity, Biomass and Carbon Stock of Woody Species in Community Reserves of Meghalaya, Northeast India

Abstract

Diversity, biomass and carbon (C) stock (above- and below-ground) of woody species (>5cm dbh) were studied in 15 Community Reserves (CRs) of Meghalaya, Northeast India. A total of 287 species belonging to 72 families and 165 genera were enumerated from 7.5 ha sampled area. The number of individuals ranged from 888 to 1582 ha-1 with a mean density of 1182.4±57.76 individuals ha-1. The basal area ranged from 22.27 to 59.22 m2 ha-1 with a mean value of 41.60±3.23 m2 ha-1 in the studied sites. The total biomass and C stock ranged from 147.57 to 343.25 Mg ha-1 and 69.95 to 162.7 Mg C ha-1, respectively. The contribution of AGB and BGB to the total biomass and C stock was 79-82% and 18-21%, respectively. The variation in species richness, density, basal area, biomass, and carbon stock observed in the studied CRs can be attributed to their past land use and management history. The present study highlights that these CRs possess a high potential to act as carbon sinks, indicating that creating more CRs in the state could prove highly beneficial. Such an approach would not only help to preserve the region’s rich biodiversity but also aid in sequester the atmospheric carbon dioxide.