carbon budget of india

TERRESTRIAL CARBON BUDGET OF INDIA

ABHA CHHABRAINDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANISATION

ABHA CHHABRAABHA CHHABRAINDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANISATION

BEIJING, CHINANOVEMBER 17, 2004

GCP WORKSHOPREGIONAL CARBON BUDGETS: FROM METHODOLOGIES TO QUANTIFICATION

OUTLINEOUTLINEIntroductionIntroduction

Terrestrial Carbon Cycle: India–– National CircumstancesNational Circumstances–– Preliminary Assessments Preliminary Assessments –– AgroecosystemAgroecosystem C Cycle C Cycle –– Forest Ecosystem C cycleForest Ecosystem C cycle–– Estimation Estimation of of Net Primary Productivity and Burnt Area detectionNet Primary Productivity and Burnt Area detection–– Anthropogenic C EmissionsAnthropogenic C Emissions

Uncertainties in C stock Estimates vis-à-vis LU/LC related C Emissions

Conclusion

GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION

Carbon (C) Cycle is central to the ‘Earth System’

National-level C budgets are needed under UNFCCC--to assess national contributions to sources and sinks of CO2

--evaluate the processes that control CO2 accumulation in atmosphere

Terrestrial C is the most uncertain but very importantcomponent of ‘C budgets’

Factors affecting terrestrial C storage includes-changes in LU, CO2 fertilization, N deposition, Climate, natural disturbances


UNFCCC: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Atmosphere ~ 760Accumulations 3.3 + 0.2

Fossil fuels andcement production

6.3 + 0.6Net Terrestrial Uptake

0.7 + 1.0Net Ocean Uptake

2.3 + 0.8

Air/ Sea Exchange ~ 90

THE GLOBAL CARBON CYCLE

Fossil Fuel Reserves: 4000Carbonate Rocks: 65x106

Ocean ~ 39, 000

Sedimentation ~ 0.2

Runoff ~ 0.8Vegetation ~ 500Soils and Detritus ~ 2, 000

~ 2, 500

(IPCC, 2000)C pools in PgC = 1015 gC, C fluxes: PgC/yr


Global Net Primary Productivity,Respiration and Fire ~ 60

India's Parameters India World %

Share Rank

Total Land Area (Mha) 329 14930 2.4 Seventh Human Population (Million) 2001 1035 6300 16.4 Second Cattle Livestock (Million Head) 196 1320 14.8 First Arable Land 166 1362 12.2 Second Irrigated Land 50 255 19.6 First Forest & Woodland (Mha) 67.55 4081.5 2.3 Fifteenth

NATIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES-- 7th largest country covering ~329 Mha (2.4%) of world’s total land area-- Supports 16.4% of world’s human population-- Largest livestock population with only 0.5% of the world’s grazing area--Agricultural landuse is major land utilization followed by forest area

TERRESTRIAL C CYCLE: INDIATERRESTRIAL C CYCLE: INDIA


Land and available Natural Resources are under stress

With diverse physiographical features, India is endowed with varied soils, climate, biodiversity & ecological regions

• Few attempts made at national level, based on different approaches

Preliminary Assessments of major pools & fluxes of C[USING BOOK-KEEPING APPROACH]

--For 1980 Hingane (1991) Total phytomass pool*: 3.02 PgC (*estimate refer to 284.9 Mha of land surface only)

NPP : 1.24 PgC/yr

--For 1985 Dadhwal and Nayak (1993)Using RS-based LU/LC inventories and regional /global C densities & fluxes

Total Biospheric pool# : 32.3-39.0 PgCSoil Organic C : 23.5-27.1 PgCTotal Phytomass : 8.3-10.9 PgCForest Phytomass : 2.9-3.3 PgCNPP : 1.3-1.6 PgC/yrLitterfall : 0.8-0.9 PgC/yr

GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004 # including phytomass, litter, SOC

AGROECOSYSTEM C CYCLEAGROECOSYSTEM C CYCLESignificant role as ~half of the total land area is arable

DETAILED ASSESSMENT (1950-1990)[Included crop, human and livestock (including poultry) biomass C-pools]

Used book-keeping approach and secondary data on crop production, human and livestock census and trade (export/import) statistics for India

• ~2.4 times increase in Crop NPP with large Inter-state variations

• Significant linear relationship of crop NPP with irrigated fraction (R2 = 0.92)

• Improved Crop biomass partitioning into EP, AGR and BGR pools

• Human and livestock biomass C pools increased by 83% & 64%, respectively between 1951-1981/82

Dadhwal et al. (1994, 1996)GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

12.4/ 34.4BGR

89.8/243.9AGR

40.3/129ECB

A T M O S P H E R E

MAJOR POOLS & FLUXES OF AGROECOSYSTEM C CYCLE 1950-51/1989-90

A G R O E C O S Y S T E MCROPS

142.5/406.9INSIDE INDIA

4.71/7.05LS

BIOME. CULT.HUMANS

SOIL POOL

A T M O S P H E R E

R

R

D

R

OUTSIDE

INDIA

IMP

EXP

Other Ecosystems

1. FEED & FODDER, GRAZING

2. FUELFUELWOOD

3. STORAGEPOOL WOOD PRODUCTS

4. HUMAN CONSUP.

FISH CATCH

5. SOIL

Burnt FYMMulch

58.1150.9

-EC5

18.1847.40 2.44

5.99

STOR

FUEL

0.652.05

.006

.009

8.3*20.9

10.938.7

2

1

2.7/6.93

26.3/80.1

23.2/76.1 4

TgC^

^TgC = 1012gC

y = 0.1886x - 0.1977R2 = 0.92

2

3

4

5

6

7

15 20 25 30 35 40

IRRIGATED FRACTION (%)

NPP

(t/h

a)RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NPP & IRRIGATED

FRACTION, INDIA (1951-1990)


AGRICULTURAL LANDUSE AND C CYCLE IN INDO-GANGETIC PLAINS (IGP)

AGRICULTURAL LANDUSE AND C CYCLE IN INDO-GANGETIC PLAINS (IGP)

BACKGROUND• IGP Region: Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh• IGP Region: Food-bowl of Indian subcontinent,

important for food security of South Asia

• IGP (India): length 1600 km, width 320 km, Total Geog. area 9.57 Mha, 5 major states:(Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal)

• Agriculture: Dominant landuse

AGROECOSYSTEM INPUTS

Cropping Intensity (1901-1991)

Irrigation Intensity (1901-1991)

Energy use in intensive agriculture

Chemical Fertilizer consumption (1955-1995)

100

120

140

160

180

1901 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991Year

Cro

ppin

g In

tens

ity %

Bihar Haryana PunjabU.P W.B INDIA

04080

120160200

1901 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991YearIr

riga

tion

Inte

nsity

%


04080

120160200

1955 1960 1965 1970 1980 1990 1995Year

NPK

con

s. (K

g/ha

)


IGPR (India)


INFLUENCE OF AGRICULTURAL INTENSIFICATION ON AGROECOSYSTEM CROP NPP

048

121620

1901 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991Year

Cro

p N

PP (t

/ha)

Bihar HaryanaPunjab Uttar PradeshWest Bengal

048

121620

0 40 80 120 160 200NPK consumption (Kgha-1)

Cro

p N

PP (t

ha-1

)


048

121620

100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190

Cropping intensity (%)

Cro

p N

PP (t

ha-1

)


• Crop biomass and NPP estimated using crop area, production, moisture fraction, and harvest index (Dadhwal et al., 1995)

• Increase of 435.6 Mt crop biomass (1901-1991)6 fold increase in crop NPP

• Crop NPP range :~1 t/ha/yr (1901) in Bihar–~17 t/ha/yr in Punjab (1991)

• Intensification of crop NPP due to increased irrigation, cropping intensity &fertilizer application

Dadhwal and Chhabra(2002)

FOREST ECOSYSTEM C CYCLEFOREST ECOSYSTEM C CYCLE–Major Pools: Phytomass C, Soil Organic C–Major Fluxes: NPP, Litterfall

Different estimates based on different approaches:

• Point ecological studies based on destructive sampling

• Growing stock volume ground inventory over large sample areas (based on stratified sampling)Approach more realistic although estimates are lower than ecological studies based

• Remote Sensing based approachRS help to quantify and monitor vegetation dynamics over large spatial scales, at high spatial resolutions, and with well-defined temporal sampling


EARTH STATION

SUN

ATMOSPHERE

SATELLITE

•• SpaceSpace--borne Remote Sensingborne Remote Sensing

Economically feasible solution to collect relevant information aEconomically feasible solution to collect relevant information at t Regional to Global scales with relatively high spatial resolutioRegional to Global scales with relatively high spatial resolution n

Sensors (Optical, Sensors (Optical, Radars) on board Radars) on board satellite platformssatellite platforms


Extent of Indian forest cover studied by:--Historical data: long-term changes in forest area (Richards and Flint, 1994)

--RS-based biennial Forest cover assessment (since 1987)

RS-based FSI inventory provides information–Area by forest types (FSI, 1987)–Crown density based area (Dense, Open, forest)–Forest area (deforested/afforested) Change matrices–Small scale afforestation studies

Indian forests range from ETRF in A&N islands, Western Ghats & NE states to dry alpine scrub in Himalayas in North

Average GS 74 cum/ha, compared to global average of 110 cum/ha

Estimated forest phytomass C densities & stocks for recent period are in range of 50–68 tha-1 and 2.0–4.4 PgC, respectively (Chhabra and Dadhwal, 2004)

FOREST COVER

SFR, 2001

67.55 Mha or 67.55 Mha or 20.5% of GA20.5% of GA

Forest Cover Assessment by Forest Survey of India

GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004ERTF: Evergreen Tropical Rain Forest

SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF PHYTOMASS C (DISTRICT-LEVEL)

Data Used • RS-based district level forest area (FSI, 1991, 1997)• Ground inventory-based GS volume (FSI, 1993, 1995, 1997)• Crown density-based biomass expansion factors

MethodologyPD = GS × DEN × CC × RC × EF

PD : Forest phytomass C density (t/ha)GS : Growing Stock (m3/ha)DEN : Density of Wood (g/cc) = 0.62CC : Carbon Content of wood = 0.5RC : Root Correction factor (TDM/ AGDM)= 1.16 (Hall and Uhlig, 1991)EF: Expansion Factor= (1.9 × D + 2.5 × (O + M)) / (D + O + M)

• District phytomass C pool = PD × total forest area of the district

• Estimated district-wise forest area (as % G.A.), PD, Phytomass C poollinked to digitized district coverage of India using GIS ARC/INFO

G.A.: Geographic AreaGCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

Data Used--RS-based forest area by major forest types (FSI, 1987)--Indian forest studies

location, forest type, soil type, depth of profile, Organic C %,soil texture (sand & clay %), soil bulk density (if reported)

MethodologySoil Bulk Density = 100 [Adams, 1973]

(Χ/ ρ0) + (100-Χ/ρm)Χ: % by weight of organic matterρ0: average bulk density of organic matter (0.224 g/ cm3) ρm : mineral bulk density (g/ cm3) [Rawls, 1983]

Soil OC density = OC% x soil BD x thickness of horizon[Batjes, 1996]

• Estimated Soil OC densities added for top 50 cm, and top 1m soil• Database classified into 16 major forest types [Champion & Seth, 1968]

grouped into 7 major forest types.

FOREST SOIL ORGANIC C POOL


0.6(+0.1)0.4(+0.0)5.8ST-Mont.

6.81 (+0.7)4.13 (+0.4)13617564.20Total

0.01(+0.0)0.01(+0.01)0.14T-D. Ever.

-0.04(+0.0)92.1(+9.4)150.40Lit & Swamp

1.4(0.2)0.7(0.1)69.9 (±10) 1737.5(+ 3.4)3520.0T.D. Dec.

2.6(0.2)1.7(+0.1)112 (±8) 5873.2(+ 5)3423.7T-M. Dec.

1.0(+0.1)0.5(+0.1)162 (±19) 3273.4(+10.4)256.43Mon.Temp.

1.0(+ 0.1)0.7(+0.1)139 (±15) 2990.7(+7.7)367.77T-Ever.

Top 1 mTop 50 cmTop 1 mNTop 50 cmN

Mean (+ S.E)Mean (+ S.E)Mean (+ S.E)

Soil OC pool (PgC)*

Soil C density(tC/ha)

Area (Mha)

Forest Type*

N= number of observations

SOIL ORGANIC C POOL BY MAJOR FOREST TYPES

(in top 50 cm & 1m soil depths)

Soil organic C pool = Estimated Soil OC densities x Forest area


*Tropical Evergreen, Montane Temperate, Tropical Moist Deciduous, Tropical Dr Deciduous, Littoral and Swamp, Tropical Dry Evergreen, Subtropical Montane

FOREST LITTERFALL C FLUXData Used

--RS-based forest area by major forest types [FSI, 1987]--Indian forest studies (location, forest type, total and leaf litterfall)

Methodology--Database classified into 16 forest types [Champion and Seth, 1968]--Grouped into 7 major forest types --Litterfall C flux = Mean litterfall x forest area x 0.45

Results

Mean Litterfall : 5.7 (T), 3.9 (L) t/ha/yr (MTF)–8.9 (T),6.4 (L) t/ha/yr (TMDF)

Estimated Total Litterfall C flux (TgC/yr): 208.8 (± 18.5) N= 122

Estimated Leaf Litterfall C flux (TgC/yr): 153.1 (± 13.2) N= 114

N: number of observations, T: Total, L: LeafGCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

MTF: Montane Temperate Forest, TMDF: Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest

Phytomass C density (1988)

Phytomass Density range:4.3 (Birbhum, West Bengal)-

207 (Lahul & Spiti, Himachal Pradesh)

t/ha NF (35)25 (74)50 (147)75 (44)100 (53)>100 (33)

NF: non-forested district

Spatial Distribution of Forest Phytomass C Density

02

46

810

Tr. E

verg

Tr. M

. Dec

id

Litt.

&Sw

amp

Tr. D

. Dec

id

Mon

t. Te

mp.

Tr. D

. Eve

rg

ST M

ont.

FOREST TYPE

LITT

ERFA

LL (T

) t/h

a/yr

0

40

80

120

160

200

Soil

OC

(100

cm) t

/ha

Litterfall (t/ha/yr)

Soil OC (t/ha)

RS-based forest area by types + point field measurements (n = 122)

INDIAN FOREST CARBON CYCLE ESTIMATESINDIAN FOREST CARBON CYCLE ESTIMATES

Chhabra et al., 2002Chhabra et al., 2003

FOREST PHYTOMASS C POOL (INDIA): 3.8 PgC TOTAL LITTERFALL C FLUX: 209 + 18.5 TgC/yr

TOTAL SOIL ORGANIC C: 6816 + 680 TgC

RS-based forest area by types+ estimated soil organic C densities (n = 136)

estimates for 1982 (n: no. of observations)

^PgC = 1015gC, TgC: 1012gC

Chhabra and Dadhwal, 2004


C-CYCLE MODEL : FOR -> AG TRANSFORMATION

(Moore et al., 1981 & Houghton et al., 1983)

BIOMASSLEFT/HA DEAD

DECAYPOOLS

VEG. RESPONSE

SOIL RESPONSE

A

T

M

O

S

P

H

E

R

E

TOTALBIOMASSPER HA

BIOMASSREMOVED

PER HA

LANDAREA

CLEARED

LIVE

Spatial modeling of annual net C flux from Indian forests (1880-1995)

Cumulative C emission due to Deforestation & Phytomass degradation: 5.5 PgC

-100

102030405060

1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000Year

Net

ann

ual C

flux

(MtC

)

Central Northwest EastNortheast South India

Regional net C flux (MtC) due to deforestationCentral: 1145, East: 417, NE: 556, NW: 380, South: 761, India: 3259

-10

20

50

80

110

140

1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980Year

Net

C fl

ux (M

tC)

Run 1 Run 2 Run 3 Run 4

1: Deforestation (low phytomass C density)2: Deforestation (high phytomass C density)3: Deforestation (regional-level)4: Deforestation & phytomass

degradation (regional-level)

-10

10

30

50

70

90

110

1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000

Year

Net

ann

ual C

flux

(MtC

)

Central North west EastNorth east South India

Regional net C flux (MtC) due to deforestation & phytomass degradationCentral: 1754, East: 755,NE: 1250, NW: 526, South: 1172, India: 5456

NET C EMISSIONS UNDER DIFFERENT SCENARIOS

Cumulative C emissions (LU change & phytomass degradation) from Indian forests dominated over cumulative fossil fuel use & industrial activity C emissions of 3.45 Pg C over the 20th century

Chhabra & Dadhwal (2004)GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

ESTIMATION AND VALIDATION OF REMOTE SENSING DERIVED TERRESTRIAL NET PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY ESTIMATION AND VALIDATION OF REMOTE SENSING

DERIVED TERRESTRIAL NET PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY

• SPOT–VEGETATION 1-km derived and C-Fix (a PEM) based 10-day NPP composites used for computing terrestrial NPP over India (1998-99)

• Characterize spatial, seasonal, land cover related variations and inter-annual variability in terrestrial NPP over different geographical regions of India

• Attempt at validation of RS-based NPP using ground-based crop NPP estimates at district level

SPOT VGT NPP SAC 2004

Net Primary Productivity Image over Indian sub-continent (June 1998–May 1999)

NET PRIMARY PRODUCTION: 2.18 PgC0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

June

, 98

July

, 98

Aug

, 98

Sept

, 98

Oct

, 98

Nov

, 98

Dec

, 98

Jan,

99

Feb,

99

Mar

ch, 9

9

Apr

il, 9

9

May

, 99

Month

Net

Prim

ary

Prod

uctio

n (T

gC/ m

onth

)

East Central Islands NorthWestNorthEast Peninsula WestRegion1 WestRegion2

Regional contributions: Central: 543.8 (24.9%), East: 314.6 (14.4%), Islands: 5.62 (0.3%), Northwest: 131.2 (6.0%), Northeast: 276.7 (12.7%), Peninsular: 483.9 (22.2%), Western Region-1: 109.4 (5.0%), and Western Region-2: 317.9 (14.6%) TgCSeasonal Variations in Regional NPP

Chhabra & Dadhwal (2004)GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

0.00.20.40.60.81.01.21.41.61.8

June

, 98

July

, 98

Aug

, 98

Sep

t, 98

Oct

, 98

Nov

, 98

Dec

, 98

Jan,

99

Feb,

99

Mar

ch, 9

9

Apr

il, 9

9

May

, 99

Month

NPP

(tC

/ha)

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

ND

VI

NE NPP NW NPP INDIA NPP Punjab NPPNE NDVI NW NDVI INDIA NDVI Punjab NDVI

Four-fold difference at low NPP level of ground-based method.

H.I . method underestimate crop NPP in low productivity districts. Both methods provide nearly similar estimates in districts with moderate to high NPP (R= 0.6).

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

June

, 00

July

, 00

Aug

, 00

Sep

t, 01

Oct

, 01

Nov

, 01

Dec

, 01

Jan,

01

Feb,

01

Mar

ch, 0

1

Apr

il, 0

1

May

, 01

Month

Net

Prim

ary

Pro

duct

ion

(TgC

)

East Central Islands NorthWestNorthEast Peninsula WestRegion1 WestRegion2

LAND COVER RELATED VARIATIONSLAND COVER RELATED VARIATIONS

~14% decrease in NPP (drought year 2000-01)Max. decrease 84.3 TgC Central India

INTER-ANNUAL VARIABILITYINTER-ANNUAL VARIABILITY VALIDATION AT DISTRICT-LEVELVALIDATION AT DISTRICT-LEVEL

0

20

40

60

June

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec Ja

nFe

bM

arch

April

May

Month

Net

Prim

ary

prod

uctio

n (T

gC)

Forest (1998-99) Forest (2000-01)Crop (1998-99) Crop (2000-01)

With rainfall decrease by 11 cm in Kharif season (July-Oct 2000), Crop NPP dropped ~41 TgC. No significant change in Forest NPP

Central India

Monthly patterns of SPOT- VGT NPP and NDVI for NW (Agroecosystem), NE(Forest)Punjab(Agriculture state), Total India

Punjab : NPP vs NDVI (9: 3.5 fold variations)

Total NPP : 1.88 PgCYear 2000-01

0.00

4.00

8.00

12.00

16.00

0.00 4.00 8.00 12.00 16.00Ground-based crop NPP (tC/ha/yr)

RS-

base

d cr

op N

PP (t

C/h

a/yr

)

NPP 1:1 line

R= 0.58

Western Region

0

200

400

600

Jan

Feb

Mar

ch

Apr

il

May

June

July

Aug

Sep

t

Oct

Nov

Dec

Month

Bur

nt A

rea

(000

ha)

North East Region

0

20

40

60

80

100

Jan

Feb

Mar

ch

Apr

il

May

June

July

Aug

Sep

t

Oct

Nov

Dec

Month

Bur

nt A

rea

(000

ha)

January-March

INDIABurnt Area

April-JuneJuly-SeptemberOctober-December

Fire in more than 1 seasonSPOT-4 VGTSAC 2004

NORTH EAST REGION

WESTERN REGION

RS-DERIVED BURNT AREA AND ACTIVE FIRE DETECTION OVER INDIA USING SPOT4-VGT AND ATSR-2 DATA

RS-DERIVED BURNT AREA AND ACTIVE FIRE DETECTION OVER INDIA USING SPOT4-VGT AND ATSR-2 DATA

0

200

400

600

800

Jan

Feb

Mar

ch

April

May

June

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Month

Bur

nt A

rea

(000

ha)

ForestCropland

(Data Source: European Commission JRC, Global Burnt Area – 2000)

INDIA

Data Used: Coarse resolution 1-Km SPOT 4-VGT monthly data for year 2000


ANTHROPOGENIC C EMISSIONSANTHROPOGENIC C EMISSIONSIndia is a party to UNFCCC as a non-annex I country

Recent estimate

Using Revised 1996 IPCC guidelines, national GHG inventory was estimated for year 1994 [NATCOM, 2004]

Aggregate emissions793 Tg CO2, 18.1 Tg CH4, 0.17 Tg N2O or total 1228 Tg (CO2 equivalent)

Per-capita CO2 emissions 0.87 tCO2 (23% of global average)

Sectoral ContributionsEnergy sector (61%), Agriculture sector (28%), Industrial sector (8%),

Waste disposal (2%), LU/LUCF (1%)

Coal combustion dominant source (~64%) among energy emissions

GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004 ALGAS: Asia Least Cost Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy

0.0001

0.001

0.01

0.1

1

10

100

1000

1860188019001920194019601980

YEAR

TgC

COAL

LIGNITE

NATURAL GAS

CEMENT

PETROLEUM

LONG-TERM C-RELEASE DUE TO FOSSIL FUEL BURNING & CEMENT PRODUCTION IN INDIA (1860-1990)

(Dadhwal et al., 1996)

COAL: Predominant source of C, accounts for 75% of cumulative release from total fossil fuel burning and industrial activity emissions

Only 8.7% release before 1930

Annual C emissions increasing rapidly:

23.2 TgC (1951)60.5 (1971)172.7 TgC (1990)

Long-term C release (1901-1990):

India: 3.45 PgCGlobal: 201.5 PgC

Annual C emissions (TgCyr-1)


LU/LC changes are important controls of C storage, responsible for large C fluxes ~20% of anthropogenic C emissions (Schimel et al., 2001)

Uncertainties due to variations: --Rates of deforestation--fate of deforested land--phytomass and Soil OC stocks

Land utilization statistics (govt. records) in India reflect only legal status, no categories having bearing on C stocks

LU changes dominated by losses of fertile land, forest conversion to croplands towards increasing demand of agricultural products for growing population, forest degradation

• Forestry & LU change emissions: 0.40 TgC for 1990 (ALGAS, 1999)

• Cumulative emissions: 5.4 PgC (1880-1996) (Chhabra et al., 2004)

Uncertainties in C stock Estimates vis-à-vis LU/LC related C Emissions: INDIA


• Reforestation of wastelands and Agroforestry practices may be considered as strong options for terrestrial C sequestration

• RS technique helpful in uncertainty reduction:• Identifying potential lands• Potential C sequestration at different land types• Monitoring current C sequestration in forest biomass• NPP estimation of different forest types

• Improved forest biomass assessments by developing models between canopy cover and RS observations

• New and emerging RS tools widely explored for vegetation studies:

• Hyper spectral RS (MODIS, AVIRIS, etc.)• LIDAR• Multiband/ Polarimetric & Interferometric MW Radar systems


WASTELAND MAPPING IN INDIA

• 1:50000 scale entire country

• Digital database• Input to MRD for

development

MRD：Ministry of Rural Development

CURRENT & FUTURE ......

IRS-P5(Cartosat-1)PAN-2.5M, 30 km, F/A

IRS-P6(Resourcesat-1)LISS III - 23M ; 140 Km; 4XsLISS IV - 5.8M ; 3XsMultiMulti--Spectral high resolution data Spectral high resolution data useful for resource monitoringuseful for resource monitoringAWiFS - 60M; 740 Km

Regional Regional landcoverlandcover mapping and mapping and monitoring, Vegetation Indexmonitoring, Vegetation Index

OCEANSAT-IISCAT, OCM

MEGHA-TROPIQUESSAPHIR, SCARAB &

MADRAS

RISAT C-band SAR; 3-50 mMulti-Pol; Multi mode

CARTOSAT-2PAN – 1.0 m, 11km

METSAT-1VHRR – 2 Km(vis); 8 Km(IR & WV)

INSAT-3D19 Ch. Sounder6 Ch. Imager

INSAT-3AVHRR – 2 Km(vis);

8 Km(IR & WV)CCD – 1 Km

153+13 Tg C/yr

Net C flux (deforestation

& degradation) 0.05 Pg C/yr

Energy & industry

flux 173

Tg C/yr

ENERGY USE & INDUSTRY

209 + 18 TgC/yr

3871-4342 TgC

A T M O S P H E R E

Forest soil organic C : 6816 TgC(top 1m soil)

Total Litterfall flux

NPP: 465-543 Tg C/yr

Current Understanding of Terrestrial C Cycle In India (1990s) Current Understanding of Terrestrial C Cycle In India (1990s)

142.5/407 Tg C

FOREST ECOSYSTEM

Litter pool390-410 TgC

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Year

Cro

p bi

omas

s pr

oduc

tion

(MtC

)

0

1

2

3

4

Cro

p N

PP (t

C/h

a/yr

)

BiomassNPP

(1950-51/1989-90)

Soil

Cumulative C emission (1901-1990) :3.5 PgC

Cumulative C emission (1880-1996) : 5.5 PgC

AGRO-ECOSYSTEM

Leaf Litterfall flux

NPP

Phytomass


CONCLUSIONCONCLUSION

Major estimates for India:Total phytomass (3.8-4.3 PgC), Soil Organic Carbon (6.8 PgC)litterfall C flux (209 + 18 TgC/yr)

Cumulative C emissions 5.5 PgC(LU change & phytomass degradation) from Indian forests dominated over cumulative fossil fuel use & industrial activity C emissions of 3.45 Pg C over the 20th century

RS combined with appropriate field studies and Ecological Modeling improves understanding of terrestrial vegetation C stocks and their related stock changes

To Predict Future C Stocks

Need to clearly define different LU categories/forest types

Update country’s forest resources inventory to include specific forest plantations

Use of combined ground-based data and satellite data

DATA GAPS AND RESEARCH NEEDSDATA GAPS AND RESEARCH NEEDS

A FULL C ACCOUNTING FOR INDIA IS THE FUTURE RESEARCH NEED

RECENT PUBLICATIONSRECENT PUBLICATIONS

• Chhabra, A., Dadhwal, V.K. (2004). Assessment of major pools and fluxes of carbon in Indian forests. Climatic Change, 64: 341-360.

• Chhabra, A, Dadhwal, V.K. (2004). Estimating terrestrial net primary productivity of India using satellite data. Current Science, 86(2): 269-271.

• Chhabra, A., Palria, S., Dadhwal, V.K. (2003). Soil organic carbon pool in Indian forests. Forest Ecology and Management, 173(1-3): 187-199.

• Chhabra, A., Palria, S. and Dadhwal, V.K. (2002). Spatial distribution of phytomasscarbon pool in Indian forests. Global Change Biology, 8(12): 1230-1239

• Chhabra, A., Palria, S. and Dadhwal, V.K. (2002). Growing stock based forest biomass estimate for Indian forests. Biomass and Bioenergy, 22(3): 187-194.

• Dadhwal, V.K. and Chhabra, A. (2002). Landuse/ landcover change in Indo-Gangetic plains: cropping pattern and agroecosystem carbon cycle. In: Abrol, Y.P., Sangwan, S., and Tiwari, M.K. (eds.), Landuse Change Historical Perspectives: Focus on Indo-Gangetic Plains, Allied Publishers Pvt. Ltd., pp. 249-276.

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