India's green cover absorbed more carbon than it emitted annually: Study

The green cover in India has absorbed more carbon than it emitted annually in the last decade but the rate of sequestration declines during extreme climate events such as drought a study has revealedThe study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research IISER Bhopal also stressed the critical role of vegetation in climate change mitigation and adaptationGreen vegetation absorbs carbon dioxide CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and releases it back into the air through respirationThe overall balance between this uptake and release of CO2 is known as the net ecosystem exchange NEE When the NEE is positive it means vegetation is releasing more carbon than it absorbs and when its negative it indicates that the vegetation is effectively storing carbon said Dhanyalekshmi Pillai associate professor head of the Max Planck Partner Group Germany and of the Earth and Environmental Sciences IISER BhopalFor the last decade Indias green ecosystem absorbed more carbon than they emitted annually with annual NEE estimates ranging from 380 to 530 million tonnes of carbon per year she saidResearcher and coauthor of the paper Aparnna Ravi said this level of carbon sequestration is impressive but tends to decline in response to climate extremes emphasising the critical role of vegetation in climate change mitigation and adaptationScientists also studied how different types of vegetation across India help absorb CO2 each yearPillai said evergreen forests in India are highly efficient in capturing CO2 through photosynthesis However the deciduous forests in central India released more carbon into the atmosphere as plant respiration surpassed primary productivityThey green vegetation released 210 million tonnes of carbon annually acting as carbon sources Although croplands are less effective at absorbing carbon per unit area than forests their extensive coverage across the country benefits significant CO2 removal from the atmosphere she saidPillai said the sequestration rate is not constant but shows a decreasing trend especially in response to droughtShe said drought is an example of climate extremes and these conditions are increasing due to climate changeGreen vegetation is favouring us reducing global warming but the sequestration potential cannot be limitlessunder climate extremes it shows decreasing sequestration This is concerning Pillai saidShe said the study reflects on creating and implementing effective climate policies and ecosystem management in consonance with nationally prioritised action plansIISER scientists in collaboration with international experts led and established an innovative technologydriven approach using highly resolved observations of plants fluorescence glow and advanced physicsbased computer models to quantify vegetations carbon sequestration potential across India for the first timeIn this novel approach IISERBhopal researchers led longterm analyses across India by tracking several thousands of observational records of the last 10 years 201222 together with research experts from the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry Germany University of Exeter United Kingdom and National Remote Sensing Centre IndiaPillai said this newly demonstrated system also benefits from the recently available radiance observations from multiple satellite instruments including the TROPOMI instrument onboard the Sentinel2 satelliteShe said the method is more sensitive to detecting changes in ecosystem responses widely across the country than the commonly employed global methods that lack sufficient insitu carbon measurementsBy integrating interdisciplinary national and international expertise IISERB research focuses on uncovering the complex ecosystem processes that govern carbon sequestration and their resilience to climate extremes Pillai saidAlso ReadHeres how microbes help detoxify the atmosphere according to a studyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever