Department of Environmental Studies, Central University of Haryana, Mahendergarh, Haryana 123031, India.
Environmental Science and Biomedical Metrology Division, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, India.
Environ Monit Assess. 2021 Nov 25;193(12):841. doi: 10.1007/s10661-021-09619-5.
In a highly urbanized city like Delhi, the urban forest plays a vital role in climate change mitigation by capturing and storing carbon dioxide (CO) from the atmosphere. Urban vegetation helps in increasing carbon sink and CO equivalent (COeq) and also provides other aesthetic and psychological environmental benefits. To understand how urban trees are vital for carbon sink, the present study aimed to quantify the carbon density and COeq in trees at National Zoological Park (NZP), New Delhi, a tropical semi-arid region of India. For this, we estimated tree biomass or dry matter content of 25 species with the help of allometric equations which are available in published literature and applicable for the tropical region. It was observed that the highest diameter at breast height (DBH) was contributed by Ficus sp. while the maximum density among adult tree species found in Albizia procera. The total mean dry matter content, C density, and COeq of NZP were 92.10 Mg ha, 43.61 Mg-C ha, and 168.83 Mg ha, respectively. The highest biomass, C density, and COeq obtained in the species of Ficus benghalensis followed by Ficus racemosa and Azadirachta indica. The data indicates that the trees having the capacity to store carbon are essential for the maintenance of a sustainable environment. Thus, the study suggests that there is a substantial scope to increase the carbon density and CO in urban city through adopting various management strategies viz. afforestation and reforestation program on degraded and abandoned land to maintain a clean and sustainable environment.
在像德里这样高度城市化的城市，城市森林通过从大气中捕获和储存二氧化碳（CO）在缓解气候变化方面发挥着至关重要的作用。城市植被有助于增加碳汇和 CO 当量（COeq），并提供其他美学和心理环境效益。为了了解城市树木对碳汇的重要性，本研究旨在量化印度新德里国家动物园（NZP）树木的碳密度和 COeq，该地区属于热带半干旱地区。为此，我们借助已发表文献中提供的适用于热带地区的种间关系方程来估算 25 个树种的树木生物量或干物质含量。结果表明，Ficus sp. 的胸径（DBH）最高，而 Albizia procera 中成年树种的最大密度最高。NZP 的总平均干物质含量、C 密度和 COeq 分别为 92.10 Mg ha、43.61 Mg-C ha 和 168.83 Mg ha。Ficus benghalensis 和 Ficus racemosa 以及 Azadirachta indica 等物种的生物量、C 密度和 COeq 最高。这些数据表明，具有储存碳能力的树木对于维持可持续环境至关重要。因此，本研究表明，通过采用各种管理策略，例如在退化和废弃土地上进行造林和再造林计划，可以显著增加城市的碳密度和 CO，以维持清洁和可持续的环境。
