Abstract
This study assessed the net above-ground carbon stock in six community forests in the Dolakha district, Nepal. A survey was conducted of above-ground timber species, using random sampling. A tree-ring chronology for Pinus roxburghii was created to construct a growth model representative of the various mainly-pine species. The allometric model combined with tree ring analysis was used to estimate carbon stock and annual growth in the above-ground tree biomass. The out-take of forest biomass for construction material and fuelwood was estimated on the basis of interviews and official records of community forest user groups. The average annual carbon increment of the community forests was 2.19 ton/ha, and the average annual carbon out-take of timber and fuelwood was 0.25 ton/ha. The net average carbon balance of 1.94 ton/ha was equivalent to 117.44 tons of carbon per community forest annually. All the community forests were actively managed leading to a sustainable forest institution, which acts as a carbon sink. It is concluded that community forests have the potential to reduce emissions by avoiding deforestation and forest degradation, enhance forest carbon sink and improve livelihoods for local communities.
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Notes
1 US$ = 83.44 NRP as of October 15, 2012.
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Acknowledgments
The data used in this paper is part of the thesis of one of the authors, submitted to Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal for the partial fulfillment of the requirement of MSc Degree. The authors would like to acknowledge the Norad Master program for providing financial assistance for conducting the research. The authors are grateful to Steve Harrison for his valuable editorial support on this manuscript.
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Shrestha, S., Karky, B.S., Gurung, A. et al. Assessment of Carbon Balance in Community Forests in Dolakha, Nepal. Small-scale Forestry 12, 507–517 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-012-9226-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-012-9226-y