ABSTRACT
Holding one of the world’s most abundant carbon (C) pools, the forests represent opportunities for economic climate change mitigation, still on average, millions of hectares of forests disappear annually, often ruining the welfare of local communities. Here, we investigated the standing biomass, forest structure, and microbial activities in the temperate forests of the Kashmir Himalaya. Total tree biomass was documented to be 292.03 ± 139.25 mg/ha, with above-ground biomass as 217.82 ± 103.97 mg/ha and belowground biomass as 74.21 ± 35.28 mg/ha. The highest (220.53 mg/ha) and lowest (0.04 mg/ha) biomass values were recorded for Cedrus deodara and Morus nigra, and thereby contributing 75.51% and 0.01% to the total tree biomass, respectively. The average tree density was recorded as 190 trees/ha. The most dominant species was Cedrus deodara with an average density of 117.5 trees/ha, followed by Pinus wallichiana (67.5 trees/ha), Morus nigra (2.5 trees/ha), and Aesculus 212 indica (2.5 trees/ha). All the individuals of the tree species had the average diameter at breast height (DBH) as 78.65 cm. Meanwhile, the highest and lowest average DBH values of 175.43 and 5.5 cm were recorded in Cedrus deodara and Morus nigra, respectively. The enzyme activity of dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, and acid phosphatase was observed as 247.45 ± 4.3, 57.02 ± 2.7, and 45.92 ± 1.5, respectively. The results showed that biomass of the forest is a composite variable that integrates diverse structural and functional attributes, thereby linking “growing stock volume density”, basal area, height, and wood density, and hence plays a notable role in carbon (C) accumulation. The outcome of the present study provides the baseline data for effective management and policymaking to lessen regional warming and mitigate the elevated level of atmospheric carbon (C) by planting tree species having high carbon storage potential.
