ESTIMATION OF WOODY CARBON DENSITY BY ALLOMETRIC METHOD IN THE SELECTED SAL FORESTS OF BANGLADESH

Estimation of Carbon (C) density in different Sal forests of Bangladesh has not yet been done for exploring their potentials in storing C. The present study compared the woody C density among three selected Sal forests located in Madhupur, Lalmai and Singra of Bangladesh in order to examine the effects of management intensities on C stocks. A total of 19 plots (each with 10 m × 10 m in size), 9 from Madhupur forest and each 5 from other two forests were placed to collect data on vegetation structure, plant diameter and woody C density. Allometric method was used to estimate C density for both aboveground and belowground parts of juvenile and adult tree plants of the selected plots. Woody biomass was converted into C content by multiplying the value with van Bemmelen factor (1.724). Results showed that woody C density was significantly (p = 0.0156) higher in Lalmai (552.46±64.09 ton/ha) and Singra forests (547.13±62.43 ton/ha) than the Madhupur Sal forest (354.03±38.43 ton/ha). Mean diameter of Sal tree plant at breast height was significantly (p = 0.022) higher in Lalmai (38.84±2.12cm) and Singra (37.36±1.97 cm) forests than Madhupur forest (30.72±1.93 cm). Results clearly demonstrated that forest trees with high average diameter had the high woody biomass content. This study thus suggested that long term forest conservation could be an effective approach to increase C stock in the forest ecosystems.