Carbon sequestration potential of disturbed and non-disturbed forest ecosystem: A tool for mitigating climate change

Abstract

Climate change is the severest environmental threat of the 21 st century. The main factor responsible for the current pace of climate change is attributed to anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs), mainly carbon-dioxide (CO 2). So, the aim of reducing carbon sources and increasing the carbon sink can be achieved by protecting the carbon pools. Forests are the largest carbon pool on earth as they hold more than 80% of all terrestrial above ground carbon (AGC) and more than 70% of all soil organic carbon (SOC). Therefore, forests are found to play a key role in the emission mitigation by sequestrating the atmospheric carbon into biomass and soil, and it plays an important role in the global carbon cycle. This article is focused on to understand the carbon sequestration potential of disturbed and undisturbed/managed forest ecosystems due to community interventions which could have a significant contribution against global climate change. It concludes that managed/undisturbed forests are the most effective and consistent sinks of GHGs compared to unmanaged forests. Besides the forest biomass, forests soils also have the potential to slow down the rate of atmospheric CO 2 enrichment through the process of carbon sequestration. Therefore, proper and systematic management of forests can store a huge amount of carbon, contribute to mitigate climate change, and help to achieve the required goal of emission reduction as per Kyoto Protocol. Hence, further research is needed to develop a better understanding on the impacts of disturbances on carbon sequestration of the forests ecosystem.