@ Abhijit, the atomic weight of Carbon is 12 and the atomic weight of Oxygen is 16 . The weight of CO2 in trees is determined by the ratio of CO2 to C is 44/12 = 3.67. Therefore, to determine the weight of carbon dioxide sequestered in the tree, multiply the weight of carbon in the tree by 3.67. Biomass and carbon calculations are usually calculated together because carbon is stored in forest biomass and has a tight mathematical relationship. The amount of biomass is multiplied by 0.5 to get estimated carbon because 50% biomass is assumed as stored carbon in forests (IPCC, 2000). Biomass is defined as the total amount of aboveground living organic matter in trees expressed as oven-dry tons per unit area. It is referred to as biomass density when expressed as mass per unit area, e.g., tons per hectare.
A short and nice video way to communicate the carbon sequestration estimation procedure
Carbon exists as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and constitutes about 0.04% of the atmosphere. In the recent past, it has gained a lot of attention as a greenhouse gas, as it has potential to influence the climate pattern of the world. Anthropogenic activities like industrialization, deforestation, forest degradation and burning of fossil fuel, has caused an increase in the level of carbon in the atmosphere and disrupted the global carbon cycle. According to the IPCC there are five carbon pools of terrestrial ecosystem involving biomass, namely the above-ground biomass, below-ground biomass, the dead mass of litter, woody debris and soil organic matter.
Estimation of the accumulated biomass in the forest ecosystem is important for assessing the productivity and sustainability of the forest. It also gives us an idea of the potential amount of carbon that can be emitted in the form of carbon dioxide when forests are being cleared or burned.
Two methods of field measurement are available.
The first one is the destructive method of tree biomass estimation. Among all the available biomass estimation method, the destructive method, also known as the harvest method, is the most direct method for estimation of above-ground biomass and the carbon stocks stored in the forest ecosystems. This method involves harvesting of all the trees in the known area and measuring the weight of the different components of the harvested tree like the tree trunk, leaves and branches and measuring the weight of these components after they are oven dried. This method of biomass estimation is limited to a small area or small tree sample sizes. Although this method determines the biomass accurately for a particular area, it is time and resource consuming, strenuous, destructive and expensive, and it is not feasible for a largescale analysis.
The second method of tree biomass estimation is the non-destructive method. This method estimates the biomass of a tree without felling. The non-destructive method of biomass estimation is applicable for those ecosystems with rare or protected tree species where harvesting of such species is not very practical or feasible. Montes developed a non- destructive method for the above-ground biomass estimation of thuriferous juniper (Juniperus thurifera L.) woodlands in the High Central Atlas, South of Morocco. In this study the biomass of the individual tree was estimated by taking into account the tree shape (by taking two photographs of the tree at orthogonal angles), physical samples of different components of the trees like branches and leaves and dendrometry measurements, volume and bulk density of the different components. Although it is a non-destructive method, to validate the estimated biomass, the trees had to be harvested and weighted. Another way of estimating the above-ground forest biomass by non-destructive method is by climbing the tree to measure the various parts or by simply measuring the diameter at breast height, height of the tree, volume of the tree and wood density and calculate the biomass using allometric equations. Since these methods do not involve felling of tree species, it is not easy to validate the reliability of this method. These methods can also involve a lot of labor and time and climbing can be troublesome.
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