TERRESTRIAL CARBON BUDGET

OF INDIA

ABHA CHHABRA
INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANISATION

GCP WORKSHOP
REGIONAL CARBON BUDGETS: FROM METHODOLOGIES TO QUANTIFICATION

BEIJING, CHINA
NOVEMBER 17, 2004

OUTLINE

Introduction

Terrestrial Carbon Cycle: India

National Circumstances
Preliminary Assessments
Agroecosystem C Cycle
Forest Ecosystem C cycle
Estimation of Net Primary Productivity and Burnt Area detection
Anthropogenic C Emissions

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

Emissions

Conclusion

GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

INTRODUCTION
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 important

component of C budgets
Factors affecting terrestrial C storage includeschanges in LU, CO2 fertilization, N deposition, Climate, natural disturbances
UNFCCC: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

THE GLOBAL CARBON CYCLE

Atmosphere ~ 760
Accumulations 3.3 + 0.2

Fossil fuels and

cement production
6.3 + 0.6

Net Ocean Uptake

2.3 + 0.8

Net Terrestrial Uptake

0.7 + 1.0

Global Net Primary Productivity,

Respiration and Fire ~ 60

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

Fossil Fuel Reserves: 4000

Carbonate Rocks: 65x106
C pools in PgC = 1015 gC, C fluxes: PgC/yr
GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

Air/ Sea
Exchange ~ 90

Runoff ~ 0.8

Ocean ~ 39, 000

Sedimentation ~ 0.2

(IPCC, 2000)

TERRESTRIAL C CYCLE: INDIA

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

India

World

Total Land Area (Mha)

Human Population (Million) 2001
Cattle Livestock (Million Head)
Arable Land
Irrigated Land
Forest & Woodland (Mha)

329
1035
196
166
50
67.55

14930
6300
1320
1362
255
4081.5

India's
%
Rank
Share
2.4
Seventh
16.4
Second
14.8
First
12.2
Second
19.6
First
2.3
Fifteenth

Land and available Natural Resources are under stress

With diverse physiographical features, India is endowed with varied
soils, climate, biodiversity & ecological regions
GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

 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 PgC

Soil Organic C
: 23.5-27.1 PgC
Total Phytomass
: 8.3-10.9 PgC
Forest Phytomass
: 2.9-3.3 PgC
NPP
: 1.3-1.6 PgC/yr
Litterfall
: 0.8-0.9 PgC/yr
GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

# including phytomass, litter, SOC

AGROECOSYSTEM C CYCLE
Significant 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

ATMOSPHERE
O
U
T
S
I
D
E

INSIDE INDIA

AGRO

ECOSYSTEM

CROPS
12.4/ 34.4

89.8/243.9

40.3/129

BGR

AGR

ECB

58.1
150.9

IMP

4.71/7.05
EXP

I
N
D
I
A

TgC^

142.5/406.9

LS
.006
.009

18.18
47.40

26.3/80.1

Burnt FYM
Mulch

0.65
2.05
2

2.7/6.9
23.2/76.1

2.44
5.99

1. FEED &
FODDER,
GRAZING

S
T
O
R

ATMOSPHERE

2. FUEL
FUELWOOD

3. STORAGE
POOL WOOD
PRODUCTS

F
U
E
L

BIOME.
CULT.
HUMANS

SOIL POOL

8.3*
20.9 1
10.9
38.7

Other
Ecosystems

4. HUMAN
CONSUP.
FISH CATCH

5
-EC
^TgC = 1012gC

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

5. SOIL

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NPP & IRRIGATED

FRACTION, INDIA (1951-1990)
7
y = 0.1886x - 0.1977

NPP (t/ha)

R2 = 0.92

2
15

20

25

30

IRRIGATED FRACTION (%)

GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

35

40

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

IGPR (India)

IGP (India): length 1600 km, width 320 km,

Total Geog. area 9.57 Mha, 5 major states:

(Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal)

Irrigation Intensity (1901-1991)

160
140
120
100
1901 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991
Year
Bihar
U.P

Energy use in intensive agriculture

Chemical Fertilizer consumption (1955-1995)
GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

Haryana
W.B

Punjab
INDIA

Irrigation Intensity %

Cropping Intensity (1901-1991)

180

NPK cons. (Kg/ha)

AGROECOSYSTEM INPUTS

Cropping Intensity %

Agriculture: Dominant landuse

200
160
120
80
40
0
1901 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991
Year
Bihar
U.P

200
160
120
80
40
0
1955 1960 1965 1970 1980 1990 1995
Year
Bihar
Haryana
Punjab
U.P
W.B
INDIA

Haryana
W.B

Punjab
INDIA

INFLUENCE OF AGRICULTURAL
INTENSIFICATION ON AGROECOSYSTEM CROP NPP

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
-1

Crop NPP (tha )

-1

20
16
12
8
4
0
1901

1951

1961 1971
Year

Bihar
Punjab
West Bengal

20

20

Crop NPP (tha )

Crop NPP (t/ha)

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

16
12
8
4
0
0

40

80

120

160
-1

200

NPK consumption (Kgha )

Bihar
Haryana
Punjab
Uttar Pradesh
West Bengal

1981

Haryana
Uttar Pradesh

Dadhwal
and
Chhabra
(2002)

16
12
8
4
0
100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190

Cropping intensity (%)

Bihar
Haryana
Punjab
Uttar Pradesh
West Bengal

1991

FOREST 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 approach

RS help to quantify and monitor vegetation dynamics over large spatial scales, at high
spatial resolutions, and with well-defined temporal sampling

GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

Space-borne Remote Sensing

Economically feasible solution to collect relevant information at
Regional to Global scales with relatively high spatial resolution
SUN
SATELLITE

Sensors (Optical,
Radars) on board
satellite platforms

ATMOSPHERE

EARTH STATION
GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

 Extent of Indian forest cover studied by:

FOREST COVER

--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

67.55 Mha or
20.5% of GA

SFR, 2001
Forest Cover Assessment by
Forest Survey of India

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 5068 tha-1 and 2.04.4 PgC, respectively
(Chhabra and Dadhwal, 2004)

GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

ERTF: 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

Methodology
PD =

GS DEN CC RC EF

PD : Forest phytomass C density (t/ha)

GS : Growing Stock (m3/ha)
DEN : Density of Wood (g/cc) = 0.62
CC : Carbon Content of wood = 0.5
RC : 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 pool

linked to digitized district coverage of India using GIS ARC/INFO
GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

G.A.: Geographic Area

FOREST SOIL ORGANIC C POOL

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)

Methodology
Soil Bulk Density =

100
(/ 0) + (100-/m)
: % by weight of organic matter
0: average bulk density of organic matter (0.224 g/ cm3)
m : mineral bulk density (g/ cm3)

[Adams, 1973]

[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.
GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

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

SOIL ORGANIC C POOL BY MAJOR FOREST TYPES

(in top 50 cm & 1m soil depths)
Forest
Type*

Area
(Mha)

Soil C density
(tC/ha)
N

Soil OC pool
(PgC)*

Mean (+ S.E)

Mean (+ S.E)

Top 50 cm N

Top 1 m

Mean (+ S.E)

Top 50 cm

Top 1 m

T-Ever.

7.77

36

90.7(+7.7)

29

139 (15)

0.7(+0.1)

1.0(+ 0.1)

Mon.Temp.

6.43

25 73.4(+10.4)

32

162 (19)

0.5(+0.1)

1.0(+0.1)

T-M. Dec.

23.7

34

73.2(+ 5)

58

112 (8)

1.7(+0.1)

2.6(0.2)

T.D. Dec.

20.0

35 37.5(+ 3.4)

17

69.9 (10)

0.7(0.1)

1.4(0.2)

Lit & Swamp

0.40

15

0.04(+0.0)

T-D. Ever.

0.14

0.01(+0.01)

0.01(+0.0)

ST-Mont.

5.8

0.4(+0.0)

0.6(+0.1)

4.13 (+0.4)

6.81 (+0.7)

Total

64.20 175

92.1(+9.4)

136

*Tropical Evergreen, Montane Temperate, Tropical Moist Deciduous, Tropical Dr Deciduous, Littoral and Swamp,
Tropical Dry Evergreen, Subtropical Montane
GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

N= number of observations

FOREST LITTERFALL C FLUX

Data 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

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

GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

N: number of observations, T: Total, L: Leaf

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

10
8

160

120

80

Litterfall (t/ha/yr)

40

Soil OC (t/ha)

ST Mont.

Tr. D. Everg

Mont. Temp.

Litt. &
Swamp

Tr. D. Decid

NF: non-forested district

Tr. M. Decid

Tr. Everg

FOREST TYPE

FOREST PHYTOMASS C POOL (INDIA): 3.8 PgC

Phytomass Density range:
4.3 (Birbhum, West Bengal)207 (Lahul & Spiti, Himachal Pradesh)

Spatial Distribution of
Forest Phytomass C Density
Chhabra et al., 2002

RS-based forest area by types + point field

measurements (n = 122)

Chhabra and Dadhwal, 2004

TOTAL SOIL ORGANIC C: 6816 + 680 TgC
RS-based forest area by types+ estimated
soil organic C densities (n = 136)
estimates for 1982

^PgC = 1015gC, TgC: 1012gC

GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

TOTAL LITTERFALL C FLUX: 209 + 18.5 TgC/yr

(n: no. of observations)

Chhabra et al., 2003

Soil OC (100cm) t/ha

t/ha

200

LITTERFALL (T) t/ha/yr

Phytomass C density
(1988)

INDIAN FOREST CARBON CYCLE ESTIMATES

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

PER HA

PER HA

T
M
O

LAND
AREA
CLEARED

VEG. RESPONSE

S
P

BIOMASS
LEFT/HA

LIVE
DEAD

H
SOIL RESPONSE

Regional net C flux (MtC) due to deforestation

60

Net annual C flux (MtC)

C-CYCLE MODEL : FOR -> AG TRANSFORMATION

DECAY
TOTAL
BIOMASS
POOLS
BIOMASS
REMOVED

Central: 1145, East: 417, NE: 556,

NW: 380, South: 761,
India: 3259

50
40
30
20
10

0
-101880

1900

1940

1960

1980

2000

Year

Central
Northeast

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

1920

Northwest
South

East
India

NET C EMISSIONS UNDER DIFFERENT SCENARIOS

90
70

Regional net C flux (MtC) due to deforestation

& phytomass degradation
Central: 1754, East: 755,
NE: 1250, NW: 526,
South: 1172, India: 5456

50
30
10
-101880

1900

1920

1940

1960

1980

North west
South

2000

110
80

1: Deforestation (low phytomass C density)

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

50
20
-10

Year
Central
North east

140
Net C flux (MtC)

Net annual C flux (MtC)

110

1880

East
India

1900

Run 1

1920

1940

Run 2Year

1960

Run 3

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

9Cumulative 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
GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

Chhabra & Dadhwal (2004)

1980

Run 4

ESTIMATION AND VALIDATION OF REMOTE SENSING

DERIVED TERRESTRIAL NET PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY
SPOTVEGETATION 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

70
60

SPOT VGT NPP

50

SAC 2004

40
30

Net Primary Productivity Image over Indian subcontinent (June 1998May 1999)

20
10

Month

East
NorthEast

Central
Peninsula

Islands
WestRegion1

Seasonal Variations in Regional NPP

GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

M ay, 99

A pril, 99

M arch, 99

Feb, 99

Jan, 99

D ec, 98

Nov, 98

O ct, 98

Sept, 98

A ug, 98

July, 98

0
June, 98

N et Primary Production (TgC / month)

80

NorthWest
WestRegion2

NET PRIMARY PRODUCTION: 2.18 PgC

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%) TgC

Chhabra & Dadhwal (2004)

Total NPP : 1.88 PgC

60
50
40
30
20
10

May, 01

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).

60

May, 99

April, 99

March, 99

Feb, 99

Jan, 99

Dec, 98

Nov, 98

0.0
Oct, 98

0.1

0.0
Sept, 98

0.2
Aug, 98

0.2

July, 98

0.4

Punjab NPP
Punjab NDVI

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)

Month
Forest (1998-99)
Crop (1998-99)

M ay

0.6

20
A p r il

0.3

M arc h

0.4

0.8

NDVI

0.5

1.0

Central India

40

F eb

0.6

16.00

1:1 line

J an

1.4

June, 98

NPP

D ec

0.7

1.2
NPP (tC/ha)

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

N ov

0.8

1.6

INDIA NPP
INDIA NDVI

0.00

O ct

1.8

Month

0.00

WestRegion2

LAND
LAND COVER
COVER RELATED
RELATED VARIATIONS
VARIATIONS

NW NPP
NW NDVI

4.00

NorthWest

WestRegion1

~14% decrease in NPP (drought year 2000-01)

Max. decrease 84.3 TgC Central India

NE NPP
NE NDVI

8.00

Sept

April, 01

Feb, 01

Jan, 01

Dec, 01

Islands

R= 0.58

Aug

Month

12.00

J u ly

Peninsula

16.00

J une

Central

NorthEast

March, 01

East

Nov, 01

Oct, 01

Sept, 01

Aug, 00

July, 00

RS-based crop NPP (tC/ha/yr)

Year 2000-01

70

VALIDATION
VALIDATION AT
AT DISTRICT-LEVEL
DISTRICT-LEVEL

N e t P rim a ry
p ro d u c t io n ( T g C )

80

June, 00

Net Primary Production (TgC)

INTER-ANNUAL
INTER-ANNUAL VARIABILITY
VARIABILITY

Forest (2000-01)
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

RS-DERIVED BURNT AREA AND ACTIVE FIRE DETECTION

OVER INDIA USING SPOT4-VGT AND ATSR-2 DATA
Data Used: Coarse resolution 1-Km SPOT 4-VGT monthly data for year 2000
NORTH EAST REGION
INDIA
Burnt Area

January-March
April-June
July-September
October-December
Fire in more than 1 season

800

GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

20

Month

200
D ec

N ov

O ct

Sept

Aug

J uly

J une

M ay

April

M arc h

0
F eb

Month

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

Nov

Dec

Oct

Aug

Sept

July

June

Forest
Cropland

400

40

Jan

600

60

May

INDIA

J an

Month

B u rn t A rea (000 h a)

Nov

Dec

Oct

Aug

Sept

July

June

May

April

March

Feb

SPOT-4 VGT

North East Region

April

SAC 2004

200

80

Feb

400

100

March

Western Region

Jan

Burnt Area (000ha)

600

Burnt Area (000 ha)

WESTERN REGION

ANTHROPOGENIC C EMISSIONS
India 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 emissions
793 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 Contributions
Energy 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

LONG-TERM C-RELEASE DUE TO FOSSIL FUEL BURNING &

CEMENT PRODUCTION IN INDIA (1860-1990)

COAL: Predominant source of C,

accounts for 75% of cumulative
release from total fossil fuel burning
and industrial activity emissions

1000
100
10

Only 8.7% release before 1930

LIGNITE
NATURAL GAS
CEM ENT

Annual C emissions increasing

rapidly:
23.2 TgC (1951)
60.5 (1971)
172.7 TgC (1990)
Long-term C release (1901-1990):

1
0.1

PETROLEUM

0.01
0.001
0.0001
18601880 19001920 19401960 1980

YEAR

Annual C emissions (TgCyr-1)

India: 3.45 PgC

Global: 201.5 PgC
(Dadhwal et al., 1996)
GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

TgC

COAL

Uncertainties in C stock Estimates

vis--vis LU/LC related C Emissions: INDIA

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)

GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

 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
GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

WASTELAND MAPPING IN INDIA

1:50000 scale
entire country
Digital database
Input to MRD for
development

MRDMinistry of Rural Development

RISAT
C-band SAR; 3-50 m
Multi-Pol; Multi mode
CARTOSAT-2
PAN 1.0 m, 11km

OCEANSAT-II
SCAT, OCM

MEGHA-TROPIQUES
SAPHIR, SCARAB &
MADRAS

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

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

CURRENT &
FUTURE ......
IRS-P6(Resourcesat-1)
LISS III - 23M ; 140 Km; 4Xs
LISS IV - 5.8M ; 3Xs
Multi-Spectral high resolution data
useful for resource monitoring
AWiFS - 60M; 740 Km
Regional landcover mapping and
monitoring, Vegetation Index

INSAT-3A
VHRR 2 Km(vis);
8 Km(IR & WV)
CCD 1 Km

INSAT-3D
19 Ch. Sounder
6 Ch. Imager

A T M O S P H E R E
142.5/407 Tg C

NPP

(1950-51/1989-90)
Net C flux
(deforestation
&
degradation)
0.05 Pg C/yr

AGRO-ECOSYSTEM

FOREST ECOSYSTEM

Energy &
industry
flux
173
Tg C/yr

600

500

NPP: 465-543 Tg C/yr

Phytomass
3871-4342 TgC

300

2
Biomass
NPP

200
100
0
1950

Leaf Litterfall
flux

400

1960

1970

1980

Year

153+13 Tg C/yr

Total Litterfall flux

Litter pool
390-410 TgC

209 + 18 TgC/yr

Forest soil organic C : 6816 TgC

(top 1m soil)

Soil

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

GCP WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 15-18, 2004

1990

0
2000

Crop NPP (tC/ha/yr)

Cumulative C emission
(1901-1990) :3.5 PgC

Crop biomass
production (MtC)

ENERGY USE &

INDUSTRY

Cumulative C emission (1880-1996) : 5.5 PgC

CONCLUSION
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

DATA GAPS AND RESEARCH NEEDS

To Predict Future C Stocks
9Need to clearly define different LU categories/forest
types
9Update countrys forest resources inventory to include
specific forest plantations
9Use of combined ground-based data and satellite data
A FULL C ACCOUNTING FOR INDIA IS THE
FUTURE RESEARCH NEED

RECENT 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 phytomass
carbon 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 IndoGangetic 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.

Coming
Coming Together is a Beginning
Keeping Together is Progress
Working Together is Success
Success
- Anonymous

abha@sac.isro.org