Riverine agroforestry for high carbon sequestration and river ecosystem rejuvenation: A case of Lilagar River, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, India

Riverine agroforestry is very important for climate-resilient and climate-ready farming besides maintaining river flow from increasing anthropogenic activities. The riverine agroforestry system along the river Lilagar, Chhattisgarh, India, has been undertaken to appraise tree species and their carbon stock in relation to climate change mitigation strategies. In this research, we selected ten grid points at 10 km intervals that cover 100 km of riverine habitat, and 4 sample plots of 1 ha were laid down at each grid. Tree species inventory was done, and volume was calculated using allometric equations, while biomass and carbon stock were estimated by applying conversion factors. A total of 37 tree species from 20 families were encountered in riverine agroforestry systems. Tree densities in farmlands recorded 86.25 stem ha-1 with volume of 10.39 m3 ha-1, biomass 9.24 t ha-1 and 16.09 t ha-1 of CO2 in riverine agroforestry. The top ten trees that sequestered CO2 in riverine agroforestry identified were Terminalia arjuna, Butea monosperma, Terminalia tomentosa, Azadirachta indica, Tectona grandis, Acacia nilotica, Albizia procera, Bridelia retusa, Madhuca latifolia and Bombax ceiba. Terminalia arjuna alone was found to sequester 60% of the total CO2 observed to be the most efficient tree species for riverine agroforestry. The estimated CO2 stock in the entire catchments of the river Lilagar was 2.20 million metric tonnes. The study concludes that riverine agroforestry has a greater potential for CO2 with diversified species composition, and therefore, adopting and disseminating the agroforestry to other rivers may be a significant contribution to climate change.