Carbon stocks and sequestration potential in urban reserve forests: Insights for climate change mitigation

Monitoring forest carbon stock and sequestration potential is vital for evaluating the role of forestry in Carbon dioxide (CO₂) removal. Urban reserve forests (URFs) established in Indian cities as part of urban greening strategy, contribute significantly to CO₂ offset. However, their information on CO₂ removal for climate change mitigation is limited. To bridge this knowledge gap, an inventory survey employing both destructive and non-destructive techniques were used to estimate this. The estimated total carbon stock was 218.75 Mg ha⁻¹ for Bhomoraguri URF and 236.15 Mg ha⁻¹ for Balipara URF, which is equivalent to 799.1 Mg CO₂ ha⁻¹ and 866.65 Mg CO₂ ha⁻¹ of CO₂ being sequenced for, respectively. The noted carbon stock varied across carbon pools, with the highest contributions from SOC (113.6 Mg ha⁻¹ in Bhomoraguri and 124.85 Mg ha⁻¹ in Balipara), followed by overstory layer (97.33 and 103. 25 Mg ha⁻¹) and the lowest from herbs layers (2.68 and 3.05 Mg ha⁻¹ in Bhomoraguri and Balipara, respectively). The top contributors to carbon stock in the overstory are Tectona grandis , Dalbergia sissoo , and Ficus hirta . In the understory layer, species such as Bidens reptans , Cynodon dactylon , and Piper betle , showed notable contributions to carbon sequestration. The substantial carbon stock and sequestration potential suggests that URFs have the potential to serve as carbon sinks, helping to offset increased atmospheric CO₂ levels. The results offer valuable insights for climate mitigation and underscore the potential of nature-based solutions in addressing global climate challenges under various future climate scenarios. Human activities such as industrial, aircraft and automotive activities are among the major emitters of carbon dioxide (CO₂), releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Meanwhile, forests, soils and other vegetation tend to absorb the released CO₂, effectively removing it from the atmosphere through photosynthesis acting as an important natural carbon sinks. This balance highlights the importance of preserving and expanding forest ecosystems as a natural solution to offset anthropogenic emissions and stabilize the global climate. • Urban greening is a promising approach to help mitigate the impacts of climate change in cities. • Urban reserve forests (URFs) play a key role in climate mitigation by sequestering atmospheric carbon. • URFs act as carbon sinks, helping reduce high CO₂ levels in the atmosphere. • URFs offer insight into nature-based solutions for addressing global climate challenges.