TITLE:
Effect of Land Use Changes on Carbon Stock Dynamics in Major Land Use Sectors of Mizoram, Northeast India
AUTHORS:
Soibam Lanabir Singh, Uttam Kumar Sahoo, Anudip Gogoi, Alice Kenye
KEYWORDS:
Land Use Change, Soil Organic Carbon Stock, Vegetation Biomass Carbon Stock
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Environmental Protection,
Vol.9 No.12,
November
13,
2018
ABSTRACT: Land
use change activities have greatly affected the total ecosystem carbon stock
(TECS) and also contribute to global change through emission of greenhouse
gases. The present study assessed the change in vegetation biomass carbon stock
(VBCS) and soil organic carbon stock (SOCS) following conversion in major land
use sectors (agriculture, agroforestry, forest and plantation) in Mizoram,
Northeast India. SOCS was the highest
in agroforestry (50.85 Mg C ha-1) and the lowest in agriculture (33.99 Mg C ha-1).
VBCS was the highest
in plantation (131.66 Mg C ha-1) and the lowest in agriculture (7.44 Mg C ha-1). The highest positive TECS change rate was observed when
agriculture was converted to plantation (6.61 Mg C ha-1·yr-1),
while negative rate of change in carbon stock was observed following the
establishment of agriculture from other land use. A positive rate of change was
observed in both VBCS and SOCS with TECS
rate of 3.58 Mg C ha-1·yr-1 when agriculture got
converted to agroforestry. The absolute carbon stock change rates were higher
in VBCS than SOCS signifying the importance to maintain tree based vegetation
cover.