Presence of large trees and tree diversity enhances carbon storage in the Western Ghats

IF 4.9 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

Biological Conservation Pub Date : 2025-05-23 DOI:10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111250

Nasla Najeeb , Karun Jose , K.A. Sreejith , Sandeep Pulla , H.S. Suresh , Jayashree Ratnam , H.V. Raghavendra , Dayani Chakravarthy , Rajiv Kumar Chaturvedi

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Tropical forests are highly diverse ecosystems with significant carbon sequestration potential. Above-ground biomass (AGB) represents a key carbon pool in these forests. We estimated AGB along with diversity, structural, and environmental attributes, from eight one-hectare permanent plots in the tropical forests of the Western Ghats, India. The relationships between these attributes and biomass were assessed. Shannon diversity (Pearson's r = 0.63), mean diameter at breast height (DBH) (r = 0.99), and total basal area (r = 0.76) showed positive correlations with AGB. The AGB value ranged between 228.6 and 746.8 Mg/ha, while species richness varied between 47 and 95 ha⁻¹. Large woody plants (DBH ≥ 60 cm) had the highest contribution (5.9–62.13 %) to AGB despite their low prevalence (0.18–3.14 %). AGB also showed strong positive correlations with large tree definitions (r = 0.70 - 0.82), highlighting their crucial role in carbon storage. These findings highlight that conserving large trees and maintaining species diversity is critical for sustaining carbon stocks, underlining the need for targeted forest management strategies that enhance both biodiversity and climate mitigation outcomes.

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大树和树木多样性的存在增加了西高止山脉的碳储量

热带森林是高度多样化的生态系统，具有巨大的碳封存潜力。地上生物量（AGB）是这些森林中一个关键的碳库。我们从印度西高止山脉热带森林的8个1公顷永久样地估算了AGB以及多样性、结构和环境属性。评估了这些属性与生物量之间的关系。Shannon多样性（Pearson’s r = 0.63）、平均胸径（DBH）（r = 0.99）和总基底面积（r = 0.76）与AGB呈显著正相关。AGB值在228.6 ~ 746.8 Mg/ha之间，物种丰富度在47 ~ 95 ha−1之间。大型木本植物（胸径≥60 cm）对AGB的贡献率最高（5.9% ~ 62.13%），但患病率较低（0.18 ~ 3.14%）。AGB还与大树定义呈强正相关（r = 0.70 - 0.82），突出了它们在碳储存中的关键作用。这些发现强调，保护大树和维持物种多样性对于维持碳储量至关重要，强调需要有针对性的森林管理战略，以增强生物多样性和减缓气候变化的成果。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Biological Conservation 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

10.20

自引率

3.40%

发文量

295

审稿时长

61 days

期刊介绍： Biological Conservation is an international leading journal in the discipline of conservation biology. The journal publishes articles spanning a diverse range of fields that contribute to the biological, sociological, and economic dimensions of conservation and natural resource management. The primary aim of Biological Conservation is the publication of high-quality papers that advance the science and practice of conservation, or which demonstrate the application of conservation principles for natural resource management and policy. Therefore it will be of interest to a broad international readership.