Determination of Carbon Stock
The increase in the levels of greenhouse gases has led to the need for assessment of carbon stock because of its major effect on climate change (Bhattacharyya, 2000). On the other hand, the forest ecosystem forms large constituents of biomass and carbon in the ecosystem. According to Kindermann et al. (2008), approximately 234 Pg C can be available in the aboveground compartments while an estimate of 62 Pg can be located in the belowground compartment and the maximum sink of 398 Pg C is available in forest soils. Therefore, degradation and destruction of forests have a strong impact on forest carbon stock.
Table 1 : Calculation of Carbon Stock
Site No Description Position depth PH H2O EC[μs*cm^-1] gravel total Total C
cm (1:5) (>2mm)% BD (gm/cm^3) [%] Carbon Stock
30 Year Reclamation site
1 Ridge Litter Ridge _ _ _ 0 0.2 43.04 0.08608
1 Ridge soil Ridge 0-10 6.34 14.11 42 1.4 1.88 0.02632
1 Ridge soil Ridge 10_20 6.25 8.81 45 1.6 1.63 0.02608
1 Ridge soil Ridge 30+ 6.22 10.77 48 1.6 1.37 0.02192
30 year reclamation action site Total 0.1604
1 furrow litter furrow 3-0 _ _ 0 0.2 47.85 0.0957
1 furrow sol furrow 0-10 6.15 15.89 42 1.4 2.55 0.0357
1 furrow soil furrow 10_20 6.02 18.01 45 1.6 1.85 0.0296
1 furrow soil furrow 30+ 6.27 20.26 48 1.6 1.45 0.0232
50 year reclamation action site (Total) 0.1842
3 litter 3-0 _ 0 0.2 48.79 0.09758
3 soil 0-10 5.95 65.8 54 1.4 3.21 0.04494
3 soil 10_20 5.98 32.4 50 1.6 2.32 0.03712
3 soil 30+ 6.23 56.6 50 1.6 1.65 0.0264
> 100 years of forest (Jarrah Forest) 0.20604
4 Litter 5-0 _ _ 0 0.2 48.58 0.09716
4 soil 0_10 6.2 39.2 35 1.35 8.22 0.11097
4 soil 10_20 6.74 14.61 38 1.55 2.59 0.040145
4 soil 30+ 6.56 16.47 38 1.6 1.77 0.02832
Total 0.276595
The table above represents the results of carbon stock in different regions. The levels of carbon stock continue to increase as the years progresses. The level of carbon stock in the 30-year reclamation site is 0.1604 t/ha while in the 50-year reclamation site is 0.1842 t/ha, and finally, in the 100-year forest is 0.2766 t/ha. The areas are based in Australia, which is characterized by different geological settings as well as the risk profile. The variation can, therefore, be attributed to the underlying processes that take place in the mining sites. According to Gogoi, Sahoo and Singh (2017), the process of mineral extraction, mainly coal and oil, can have a strong impact on the ecosystem and carbon iv oxide cycle. The levels of carbon storage can be minimized by the reclamation process. Calculation of carbon stock is accomplished by using different methods, but all are based on the amount of carbon present and changes that have taken for a while (Petrokofsky et al., 2012; Lee et al., 2009). The areas of focus include below and above biomass, deadwood, soil carbon, and deadwood, among others. Zimov et al (2006) agrees that the organic C in the permafrost display unique characteristics and has a contribution to the global C budget. Therefore, the factors contributing to high-latitude should be mitigated to control the emissions of carbon iv oxide.
Jarrah forest is the native site, and the rehabilitation is done in comparison with more than 100 year of forest (Jarrah forest). The other sites of comparison are 30 year reclamation site and 50 year reclamation site. The comparison is based on vegetation growth for years. The vegetation composition with reference to the native reference forest was slightly different. The difference is attributed to the time spent while conducting the rehabilitation process (Gould, 2012). The rehabilitation process in the site is through assessing factors such as the plant species composition and the richness of the soil (Banning et al., 2011). The future avoidance of such issues there is a need to reduce the emissions from deforestation, degradation, and conservation of forest carbon stocks. The rate of carbon stock is increasing among the three sites suggesting that the reclamation process has taken place. The levels of carbon stock have been increasing which suggest there a positive change in terms of reclamation. According to the World Bank report (2012; Ray et al., 2011), the enhancement of carbon stock can be done by the change of land uses. The high rate of carbon stock could contribute to the soil as well as conservation of water including enhancement of soil fertility.
References
Banning, N. C., Lalor, B. M., Grigg, A. H., Phillips, I. R., Colquhoun, I. J., Jones, D. L., & Murphy, D. V. (2011). Rehabilitated mine-site management, soil health and climate change. In Soil health and climate change (pp. 287-314). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Gogoi, A., Sahoo, U. K., & Singh, S. L. (2017). Assessment of biomass and total carbon stock in a tropical wet evergreen rainforest of Eastern Himalaya along a disturbance gradient. J Plant Biol Soil Health, 4(1), 8.
Gould, S. F. (2012). Comparison of post‐mining rehabilitation with reference ecosystems in monsoonal eucalypt woodlands, northern Australia. Restoration Ecology, 20(2), 250-259.
Kindermann, G., Obersteiner, M., Sohngen, B., Sathaye, J., Andrasko, K., Rametsteiner, E., … & Beach, R. (2008). Global cost estimates of reducing carbon emissions through avoided deforestation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(30), 10302-10307.
Petrokofsky, G., Kanamaru, H., Achard, F., Goetz, S. J., Joosten, H., Holmgren, P., … & Wattenbach, M. (2012). Comparison of methods for measuring and assessing carbon stocks and carbon stock changes in terrestrial carbon pools. How do the accuracy and precision of current methods compare? A systematic review protocol. Environmental Evidence, 1(1), 6.
World Bank. (2012). Enhancing Carbon Stocks and Reducing Co2 Emissions in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Projects. Retrieved 28 April 2020, from https://www.cbd.int/financial/climatechange/g-carbonagri-wb.pdf
Zimov, S. A., Davydov, S. P., Zimova, G. M., Davydova, A. I., Schuur, E. A. G., Dutta, K., & Chapin III, F. S. (2006). Permafrost carbon: Stock and decomposability of a globally significant carbon pool. Geophysical Research Letters, 33(20).
Lee, J., Hopmans, J. W., Rolston, D. E., Baer, S. G., & Six, J. (2009). Determining soil carbon stock changes: simple bulk density corrections fail. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 134(3-4), 251-256.
Ray, R., Ganguly, D., Chowdhury, C., Dey, M., Das, S., Dutta, M. K., … & Jana, T. K. (2011). Carbon sequestration and annual increase of carbon stock in a mangrove forest. Atmospheric Environment, 45(28), 5016-5024.
Bhattacharyya, T., Pal, D. K., Mandal, C., & Velayutham, M. (2000). Organic carbon stock in Indian soils and their geographical distribution. Current Science, 655-660.
