Biodiversity and carbon stocks of the understory vegetation as indicators for forest health in the Zabarwan Mountain Range, Indian Western Himalaya
Carbon stock and diversity of species together address the two most pressing concerns for successful ecosystem functioning and management, namely climate change and biodiversity loss. Understory vegetation is a significant indicator of plant biodiversity, contributing to forest carbon storage, susta...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X24001420 |
| _version_ | 1827341756070363136 |
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| author | Shiekh Marifatul Haq Muhammad Waheed Mohammed Darwish Manzer H. Siddiqui Umer Hafeez Goursi Manoj Kumar Liang Song Rainer W. Bussmann |
| author_facet | Shiekh Marifatul Haq Muhammad Waheed Mohammed Darwish Manzer H. Siddiqui Umer Hafeez Goursi Manoj Kumar Liang Song Rainer W. Bussmann |
| author_sort | Shiekh Marifatul Haq |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Carbon stock and diversity of species together address the two most pressing concerns for successful ecosystem functioning and management, namely climate change and biodiversity loss. Understory vegetation is a significant indicator of plant biodiversity, contributing to forest carbon storage, sustaining species, and providing many ecological services. However, little research has been done about the contribution of the understory carbon stock in the forests, most likely because these understory components only make up a small portion of the total carbon stock of the forest ecosystem. To fill this knowledge gap, the current study sought to study the baseline understory (shrub and herb) diversity and carbon stock from the Zabarwan Mountain Range. Data on the characteristics of the understory vegetation in five different forest types were gathered using a random sample method. Using the Pearson method, we calculated the correlation coefficient between the diversity parameters and the carbon stock. The calculated average total carbon stock in the understory was determined to be 3.93 Mg C/ha (1.55–9.2 Mg C/ha). The shrub layer contributed a maximum value of 82 % of carbon stock. The increasing trends in total understory carbon were Parrotiopsis forest < Broad-leaved forest < Oak forest < Acacia forest < and Pinus forest. Species-wise, the shrub Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana was found to contribute a maximum average carbon stock of 3.11 Mg C/ha (47.76 %) and can be regarded as a key indicator understory species for the restoration of Himalayan forests. The decreasing order of trends in Shannon–Wiener diversity index value in the study area was Oak forest > Broad-leaved forest > Acacia forest > Pinus forest > Parrotiopsis forest. Overall, the data show that coniferous-dominated woodlands had higher understory carbon stocks than other kinds of woodlands. The data acquired highlights the importance of shrub carbon stock storage in the understory layer in this Himalayan region. The current research on understory vegetation provides strong evidence for maintaining forest management practices that enable and encourage the planting of multiple layers of vegetation in landscape restoration as approaches to improve biodiversity while increasing resistance to climate change. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T21:53:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ac1c2a54e6e54a42be2098252a4b3dd3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T21:53:33Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj.art-ac1c2a54e6e54a42be2098252a4b3dd32024-02-25T04:35:10ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2024-02-01159111685Biodiversity and carbon stocks of the understory vegetation as indicators for forest health in the Zabarwan Mountain Range, Indian Western HimalayaShiekh Marifatul Haq0Muhammad Waheed1Mohammed Darwish2Manzer H. Siddiqui3Umer Hafeez Goursi4Manoj Kumar5Liang Song6Rainer W. Bussmann7Department of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia; Corresponding authors.Department of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, GeorgiaDepartment of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, GeorgiaDepartment of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; Corresponding authors.Department Operations Wildlife and Conservation Management Services, Barari Natural Resources, LLC, UAECoE-SLM, Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education, PO: New Forest, Dehradun 248006, IndiaCAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Yunnan, ChinaDepartment of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia; Department of Botany, Institute of Life Sciences, State Museum of Natural History, Karlsruhe, GermanyCarbon stock and diversity of species together address the two most pressing concerns for successful ecosystem functioning and management, namely climate change and biodiversity loss. Understory vegetation is a significant indicator of plant biodiversity, contributing to forest carbon storage, sustaining species, and providing many ecological services. However, little research has been done about the contribution of the understory carbon stock in the forests, most likely because these understory components only make up a small portion of the total carbon stock of the forest ecosystem. To fill this knowledge gap, the current study sought to study the baseline understory (shrub and herb) diversity and carbon stock from the Zabarwan Mountain Range. Data on the characteristics of the understory vegetation in five different forest types were gathered using a random sample method. Using the Pearson method, we calculated the correlation coefficient between the diversity parameters and the carbon stock. The calculated average total carbon stock in the understory was determined to be 3.93 Mg C/ha (1.55–9.2 Mg C/ha). The shrub layer contributed a maximum value of 82 % of carbon stock. The increasing trends in total understory carbon were Parrotiopsis forest < Broad-leaved forest < Oak forest < Acacia forest < and Pinus forest. Species-wise, the shrub Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana was found to contribute a maximum average carbon stock of 3.11 Mg C/ha (47.76 %) and can be regarded as a key indicator understory species for the restoration of Himalayan forests. The decreasing order of trends in Shannon–Wiener diversity index value in the study area was Oak forest > Broad-leaved forest > Acacia forest > Pinus forest > Parrotiopsis forest. Overall, the data show that coniferous-dominated woodlands had higher understory carbon stocks than other kinds of woodlands. The data acquired highlights the importance of shrub carbon stock storage in the understory layer in this Himalayan region. The current research on understory vegetation provides strong evidence for maintaining forest management practices that enable and encourage the planting of multiple layers of vegetation in landscape restoration as approaches to improve biodiversity while increasing resistance to climate change.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X24001420Shrub biomassCarbon sequestrationCarbon stockNational parkKashmir Himalaya |
| spellingShingle | Shiekh Marifatul Haq Muhammad Waheed Mohammed Darwish Manzer H. Siddiqui Umer Hafeez Goursi Manoj Kumar Liang Song Rainer W. Bussmann Biodiversity and carbon stocks of the understory vegetation as indicators for forest health in the Zabarwan Mountain Range, Indian Western Himalaya Ecological Indicators Shrub biomass Carbon sequestration Carbon stock National park Kashmir Himalaya |
| title | Biodiversity and carbon stocks of the understory vegetation as indicators for forest health in the Zabarwan Mountain Range, Indian Western Himalaya |
| title_full | Biodiversity and carbon stocks of the understory vegetation as indicators for forest health in the Zabarwan Mountain Range, Indian Western Himalaya |
| title_fullStr | Biodiversity and carbon stocks of the understory vegetation as indicators for forest health in the Zabarwan Mountain Range, Indian Western Himalaya |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biodiversity and carbon stocks of the understory vegetation as indicators for forest health in the Zabarwan Mountain Range, Indian Western Himalaya |
| title_short | Biodiversity and carbon stocks of the understory vegetation as indicators for forest health in the Zabarwan Mountain Range, Indian Western Himalaya |
| title_sort | biodiversity and carbon stocks of the understory vegetation as indicators for forest health in the zabarwan mountain range indian western himalaya |
| topic | Shrub biomass Carbon sequestration Carbon stock National park Kashmir Himalaya |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X24001420 |
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