Natural forests harbouring a diverse mix of native tree species are more reliable than monoculture tree plantations for sequestering carbon, suggests a new study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters. This is because natural forests vary less from year to year in the rate of carbon capture from the atmosphere compared to plantations, as the ability of these forests to capture carbon is less affected by disturbances such as droughts. The study was conducted by scientists from Nature … Read More
Birds, Forests and Development in Himalayan Oak Forests: A Study in Progress
The Himalayas are a biologically diverse region within India owing to their elevational range and geographic location. Apart from essential ecosystem services that they provide to the Gangetic Plains, Himalayan forests protect a large number of endemic species and support extensive tourism activities.
During the last few decades, however, Himalayan forests have become degraded and fragmented due to various economic pressures. It is necessary to understand how human-created disturbance is impacting Himalayan fauna, given the recent spurt in road-widening, construction, … Read More
Study Identifies North East Forests and Western Ghats as Vulnerable to Climate Change
A forest impact study by a four-member team from the Centre for Sustainable Technologies, Bengaluru has identified that due to climate change, there is going to be a 45 percent change in forest vegetation in the North East and the Western Ghats, by 2100. The study, along with a related crop impact study, was published in the latest issue of the Indian Science Journal, Current Science. In addition to climate change, low biodiversity, low tree density and fragmentation also contribute … Read More
Climate Change to Have Large-scale Effect on North-east States
The impact of climate change is likely to result in large-scale changes in the biodiversity of the North-east, a study has revealed. The study, sponsored by The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI), has warned that change in temperature, quantum and intensity of rainfall coupled with extreme weather conditions would have a long-term impact, particularly on the structure and composition of forests in the region. The impact is likely to be more severe in areas where other pressures are deemed to … Read More
Climate Change will be Accelerated by Melting Arctic Ice
A climate tipping point could occur within the next 20 years as the melting Arctic ice is set to release huge quantities of Carbon locked away as frozen plant matter under the vast permafrost region of the Arctic. A study which analyzed the speed at which the permafrost is melting has said that the tipping point will occur between 2020 and 2030. That event will mark the point where the Arctic turns from being a Carbon sink into a Carbon … Read More
Oceans could rise by 1.6M in 90-years
Accelerating climate change in the Arctic, including a thaw of Greenland’s ice could cause oceans to rise by as much as 1.6M by 2100. The assessment was based on an international report by the Oslo based Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program. The latest assessment is well above past estimates. According to the report, the past 6 years have been the warmest ever recorded in the Arctic.… Read More
Sundarbans mangroves carbon absorption rated at 4 crore tonnes
In a study done by researchers at University of Calcutta, the mangrove forests of Sundarbans, which have an area of 2118 sq. km, store around 4.15 crore tonnes of CO2, This is valued at US$ 79 billion in the international carbon trading markets. The two year study has been funded by the Union Ministry of Earth Science to analyze the carbon sequestration efficiency of the Mangrove Forests. Above ground biomass was estimated for carbon content using laser beams. The study … Read More
Coastal Mangroves the Most Carbon Rich Forests on Earth
More carbon is said to be stored in Coastal Mangroves than any other forest ecosystem on Earth. The findings were published in Nature Geoscience and were the conclusions of a research team from the US Forest Service’s Southwest and Northern Research Stations, University of Helsinki and the Center for International Forestry Research. Per hectare, mangrove forests store four times more carbon than most tropical forests. The findings were based on their examination of 25 mangrove forests across the Indo Pacific … Read More
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