Current World Environment

Introduction

The daily anthropogenic advancements of humans have led to an increase in global carbon emissions. In the modern world, Industrialization and Urbanization will lead to a continuous increase in air pollution and the earth's average temperature. According to studies, the amount of carbon in the atmosphere is increasing by about 2,600,000 kg every year¹. India has the second-highest population after China and is the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for around 5.3% of all emissions worldwide². To achieve the goal of the UNFCC Paris agreement to reduce the rise in the world average temperature far below 2 °C, Carbon sequestration projects are necessitated in every part of the world³. 

Over the decade of 2020, to achieve net-zero carbon targets by 2050, it is predicted that global CO₂ emissions reduced by 7.6% annually⁴. The least expensive way to minimize this gas is by biological sequestration of carbon in plants. Traditional protected landscapes or sacred forests typically have higher levels of biomass, plant diversity, and tree cover than nonsacred areas^5-7. Sacred groves are known as the small patches of conserved forests protected by man’s spiritual beliefs and cultural practices. These sacred forest patches were studied from the ecological, environmental, and floristic points of view by several research workers. Due to their religious and mythological myths and beliefs, sacred groves and sacred plants are conserved well. Apart from being conserved, these sacred plants can also have a higher potential for carbon sequestration.

The Current paper presents the carbon sequestration potential of sacred trees of sacred groves of Mundra taluka of Kachchh district. This paper provides also a total number of sacred groves and sacred trees with their taxonomical details.

Material and Methods

Study sites

The present study was conducted in selected study areas in Mundra taluka of Kachchh district from October 2021 to September 2022.  A total of 32 sacred groves was observed in 18 villages of Mundra taluka. Mundra is a small town and it is situated near the Arabian Sea. It is situated between 22.8396⁰ N and 69.7241⁰ E. It is one of the largest Private ports of Mundra situated on the north shores of the Gulf of Kachchh. The maximum and minimum temperatures were recorded 15⁰ C in winter and 38⁰ C in summer respectively. The average temperature of this region is about 27 ⁰C. 

Enumeration Method for Sacred plant species

The plants that grow near the grove which considered Sacred plant species. By using local flora, Gujarat state flora⁸ all the recorded plant species were identified and arranged according to  Bentham & Hooker’s classification system. 

Method for Biomass

The biomass of sacred tree species was estimated using a non-destructive method. The above-ground biomass was calculated by using a model created by⁹. The following formula is used for estimating the biomass of sacred tree species. 

Y= exp. { -2.4090 + 0.9522 In (D²× H × S)}

Where Y is the above-ground biomass (kg), H is the height of trees (meter), D is the diameter at breast height (1.3m) in cm, and S is the wood density (t/m³), Exp. = [.........] signifies "raised to the power of [.........]". The wood densities for tree species were obtained from the website www.worldagroforestycentre.org. The 15% value of the above-ground biomass was used to determine the below-ground biomass ¹⁰.

Method for measuring the Height of tree species

Using an Abney Clinometer, tree species' heights were measured. The formula used to calculate the tree species' height is as follows¹¹:     

Tan? = BC/AC, where AB is equal to Tan? and AC is the distance from the tree as measured by a measuring tape.

Method for measurement of DBH

Trees with girth at breast height (GBH) greater than 10 cm were classified as part of an established regeneration sampling, and the DBH (Diameter at Breast Height) was calculated by measuring the tree's GBH at a height of roughly 1.32 meters above the ground by using the measuring tape. By dividing the actual girth of the tree species by (3.14), or GBH/3.14, the DBH of the tree species was determined¹². GBH of 172 individuals of 16 tree species was measured. 

Total Biomass (TB)

The total Biomass of trees is considered as the sum of the above and below grounds biomass¹³.

Method for measuring the Carbon Sequestration

Of the total biomass of trees, 72.5% is considered dry biomass¹⁴. Out of 72.5%, 50% of dry biomass is Carbon¹⁵. Wood volume (dry weight) can be used to calculate the carbon storage of tree species by multiplying it by 3.67 (Molecular weight of Carbon) which is considered the actual content of carbon in biomass^16-17. 

Result and Discussion

The selected sites show the flora diversity of Mundra taluka’s Sacred grove. A total of 38 Plant species was recorded. 

Table: 1 Checklist of Sacred plants recorded in Mundra taluka sacred grove

Table 2: Family-wise genera and species recorded in the Mundra Taluka sacred grove

Among 25 families, Fabaceae was the most dominant family i.e., 5 Species, followed by Mimosaceae (4 species), Apocynaceae (3 species), Caesalpiniaceae,Asclepiadaceae, Convolvulaceae and (2 species). 

Table 3: Dominant genera in the Mundra Mundra sacred grove:

Among 33 genera, Accacia, Ocimum Ficus, and Prosopsis (2 species) were the most dominant genera respectively. 

Table: 4 Sacred groves, their village of occurrence and the area occupied.  

Table 5: Carbon Sequestration of Tree Species.

There are 61 villages in Mundra taluka. Out of the total 61 villages, sacred groves were recorded from 18 villages. Sacred groves were absent in the remaining villages of Mundra taluka. A total of 32 sacred groves were recorded from 18 villages which cover approximately 12.77 hectares of land area. Maximum sacred groves were recorded in Mangra village, i.e., 4 Sacred groves, followed by Baroie village (3 Sacred groves), Viraniya village (3 Sacred groves), and Bagada village (3 Sacred groves) respectively.

Out of the total 12.77 hectares of land area covered by sacred groves. The maximum area was recorded in SGs of Zarpara village i.e., 3.01 hectares followed by Baroie village (2.33), Tunda village (2.203 hectares), Mangra village (1.53 hectares) and Navinal (1.21 hectares). 

The Carbon sequestration of 172 individuals of 16 tree species was estimated through the standard method⁹. Out of the total 16 tree species. Ficus benghalensis L. is contributed to the maximum carbon sequestration, i.e., 5.84 tones followed by Azadirachta indica A. Juss. (4.34 tons) Syzigium cumini (L.) Skeels (3.79 tons), Acacia nilotica (L.) Del. (2.72 tons), Phoenix sylvestris (L.) Roxb., (2.61 tons) Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Delile (2.39 tons), Polyalthia longifolia (Soon) Thw. (2.2 tons)

Lower carbon sequestration was recorded in Pithecellobium dulce (Roxb.) Benth (0.961 tones), Prosopsis cineraria (L.) Druce (0.907 tons), Acacia catechu Willd. (0.39 tons) and Tamarindus indicaL. (0.173 tons).

Conclusion

During my research work total of 32 sacred groves were recorded from 18 villages of selected study sites. Which covers approximately 12.27 hectares of the land surface area. total 127 individuals of 16 tree species carbon sequestration measured. Out of the total 16 tree species, Ficus benghalensis L. was recorded with 5.84 tons of carbon storage in only 8 individuals while Azadirachta indica A. Juss. was recorded with 4.34 tons of carbon storage in 52 individuals. Syzigium cumini (L.) Skeels was recorded with 3.79 tons of carbon storage in only 12 individuals. This indicates carbon sequestration is not only dependent on the individual number’s species. It depends on the Biomass of the species. A low number of individuals with high biomass can store more carbon than a high number of individuals with low Biomass. 

Acknowledgement

No needed

Conflict of interest

There is no conflict of interests. 

Funding Sources

No funding sources. 

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