Carbon Sequestration and Soil Carbon Build-Up under Eucalyptus Plantation in Semi-Arid Regions of North-West India

The current study investigated inter-annual growth, biomass production, carbon storage, and sequestration in Eucalyptus tereticornis plantation of different age (1-8 years) in North-west India. Nondestructive sampling using the allometric equation assessed aboveground and belowground biomass of E. tereticornis plantations. The growth, biomass accumulation, and CO2 assimilation followed the log-normal distribution with age of the plantation. At early stages, E. tereticornis showed rapid growth and within six months 1.4-time increment in DBH and height of one-year tree. Total carbon stock in E. tereticornis increased from 18.7-20.6 Mg C ha(-1) in 1-year to 91.8-96.2 Mg C ha(-1) after 8-year of planting. The soil organic carbon in 0-15 cm depth showed 34.8% increment in 8 years of plantation cycle highlighting the significance of litter input. Terrestrial C sequestration in the matured plantation (8 years) varied from 85.3 to 88.7 Mg C ha(-1) during September 2012 and March 2013, respectively. Total carbon stock (plant+soil) in 8-year plantation ranges from 114.1 to 118.8 Mg C ha(-1). Results confirm that E. tereticornis based plantation forestry offers a low-cost strategy for carbon sequestration besides increasing farm income.