A Study on Potentiality of Carbon Storage and CO₂ Uptake in the Biomass and Soil of Coppice Stand

Abstract

Problem statement: Enhancing carbon storage in terrestrial ecosystems, especially in the forests, is a key factor in maintaining the atmosphere's carbon balance. With regard to the importance of forest in carbon sequestration, this study attempted to investigate the carbon storage potential and CO₂ uptake in oak coppice stand. Approach: After combining slope, aspect and hypsometric maps, the number of land units (polygons) as well as their areas were determined. Then 60 sample trees were selected in such a way that all environmental and typological conditions were taken into account. After determining the overall weight of different parts of tree, to measure the dry weight as well as to determine the amount of biomass, different parts of tree were transformed to a kiln. The humus was collected and weighted in an area of 400 cm² under each tree. The quantity of ash was taken away from biomass, then the amount of organic sequestrated carbon as well as that of CO₂ uptake was measured. To determine the amount of carbon stored in the soil samples were extracted from the depths of 0-10 and 10-30 cm. Results: The amount of organic sequestrated carbon was 22.65 tons ha^-1. The trunk, root, branch, soil, leaf and humus had the maximal amount of storage respectively. The annual carbon dioxide uptake was 5.94 tons ha^-1. Conclusion: Coppice stands had massive plant coverage as well as an increase in biomass production if the destructive factors were removed from these areas.