Mapping and assessment of carbon sequestration potential and its drivers in the Eastern Himalayan Region (India)

Eastern Himalayan Region (EHR) is a biodiversity hotspot and an ecologically sensitive area. In the last few years, climate change, land use, and land cover (LULC) have substantially affected forest ecosystems and their capacity to store carbon. Therefore, understanding the impacts of these drivers...

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Main Authors: Manob Das, Ashis Mandal, Arijit Das, Miguel Inácio, Paulo Pereira
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-06-01
Series:Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266601642300049X
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author Manob Das
Ashis Mandal
Arijit Das
Miguel Inácio
Paulo Pereira
author_facet Manob Das
Ashis Mandal
Arijit Das
Miguel Inácio
Paulo Pereira
author_sort Manob Das
collection DOAJ
description Eastern Himalayan Region (EHR) is a biodiversity hotspot and an ecologically sensitive area. In the last few years, climate change, land use, and land cover (LULC) have substantially affected forest ecosystems and their capacity to store carbon. Therefore, understanding the impacts of these drivers of change on carbon sequestration (CS) is essential. This study aims to assess the spatiotemporal pattern of carbon sequestration in EHR between 2000 and 2020 using net primary production (NPP) as a proxy. NPP was extracted from Moderate Resolution Imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. The impact of natural and human factors on the NPP distribution were also assessed using regression analysis. The results showed that the areas with good NPP (relatively high ecosystem productivity) increased by 12% from 2000 to 2020. Conversely, the areas with poor NPP (relatively low ecosystem productivity) decreased from 39.92% (2000) to 34.42% (2020). The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) increased in the last 20 years (15% from 2000 to 2020). Land surface temperature (LST) increased pre-monsoon and decreased post-monsoon (winter). The correlation analysis showed that urban population growth (r = −0.464) and LST (r = −0.393) negatively impacted NPP. On the other hand, NDVI (r = 0.857), vegetation cover (VC) (r = 0.679), and human development index (HDI) (r = 0.741) had a positive correlation with NPP. Multiple linear regression (MLR) models showed that human (urbanisation and total population growth) and natural (such as VC) factors significantly impacted NPP. The total population growth had a weak positive relationship with NPP (r = 0.143). NPP increase can be attributed to effective management strategies (e.g., restoration).
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spelling doaj.art-07a64bd87aa64154bb54c60a61d8139f2023-05-08T04:09:55ZengElsevierCase Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering2666-01642023-06-017100344Mapping and assessment of carbon sequestration potential and its drivers in the Eastern Himalayan Region (India)Manob Das0Ashis Mandal1Arijit Das2Miguel Inácio3Paulo Pereira4Department of Geography, University of Gour Banga, Malda, West Bengal, India; Environmental Management Laboratory, Mykolas Romeris University, Vilnius, Lithuania; Corresponding author. Department of Geography, University of Gour Banga, Malda, West Bengal, India.Department of Geography, University of Gour Banga, Malda, West Bengal, IndiaDepartment of Geography, University of Gour Banga, Malda, West Bengal, IndiaEnvironmental Management Laboratory, Mykolas Romeris University, Vilnius, LithuaniaEnvironmental Management Laboratory, Mykolas Romeris University, Vilnius, LithuaniaEastern Himalayan Region (EHR) is a biodiversity hotspot and an ecologically sensitive area. In the last few years, climate change, land use, and land cover (LULC) have substantially affected forest ecosystems and their capacity to store carbon. Therefore, understanding the impacts of these drivers of change on carbon sequestration (CS) is essential. This study aims to assess the spatiotemporal pattern of carbon sequestration in EHR between 2000 and 2020 using net primary production (NPP) as a proxy. NPP was extracted from Moderate Resolution Imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. The impact of natural and human factors on the NPP distribution were also assessed using regression analysis. The results showed that the areas with good NPP (relatively high ecosystem productivity) increased by 12% from 2000 to 2020. Conversely, the areas with poor NPP (relatively low ecosystem productivity) decreased from 39.92% (2000) to 34.42% (2020). The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) increased in the last 20 years (15% from 2000 to 2020). Land surface temperature (LST) increased pre-monsoon and decreased post-monsoon (winter). The correlation analysis showed that urban population growth (r = −0.464) and LST (r = −0.393) negatively impacted NPP. On the other hand, NDVI (r = 0.857), vegetation cover (VC) (r = 0.679), and human development index (HDI) (r = 0.741) had a positive correlation with NPP. Multiple linear regression (MLR) models showed that human (urbanisation and total population growth) and natural (such as VC) factors significantly impacted NPP. The total population growth had a weak positive relationship with NPP (r = 0.143). NPP increase can be attributed to effective management strategies (e.g., restoration).http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266601642300049XNet primary productionEastern HimalayaCarbon sequestrationClimate changeMountain ecosystems
spellingShingle Manob Das
Ashis Mandal
Arijit Das
Miguel Inácio
Paulo Pereira
Mapping and assessment of carbon sequestration potential and its drivers in the Eastern Himalayan Region (India)
Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering
Net primary production
Eastern Himalaya
Carbon sequestration
Climate change
Mountain ecosystems
title Mapping and assessment of carbon sequestration potential and its drivers in the Eastern Himalayan Region (India)
title_full Mapping and assessment of carbon sequestration potential and its drivers in the Eastern Himalayan Region (India)
title_fullStr Mapping and assessment of carbon sequestration potential and its drivers in the Eastern Himalayan Region (India)
title_full_unstemmed Mapping and assessment of carbon sequestration potential and its drivers in the Eastern Himalayan Region (India)
title_short Mapping and assessment of carbon sequestration potential and its drivers in the Eastern Himalayan Region (India)
title_sort mapping and assessment of carbon sequestration potential and its drivers in the eastern himalayan region india
topic Net primary production
Eastern Himalaya
Carbon sequestration
Climate change
Mountain ecosystems
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266601642300049X
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