CARBON CAPTURE THROUGH FORESTS & VEGETATION – AN ENVIRONMENTAL INKLING

Abstract

Forest envelop is one of many factors which affect climate at the global, regional and local
scales. Throughout the globe, forests have been a source of inspiration for people who live in
them or near them and have often identified forests, forest groves or even individual trees as
sacred places or objects. Many environmental and ecological ‘services’ are derived from
forests. In most cases, the forest ecosystem is one element in a complex interaction in which
factors such as geographical location, size of the forested area, geology, human and animal
activities all play a role. Different interpretations of the significance of forests in issues such
as global climate change, flows of water in rivers, soil erosion, and more recently the carbon
storage/sequestration and its dynamics are often related to the complexity of measuring the
role of forest ecosystems as fact full questions. The existence and cycling of carbon in forest
ecosystems is neither well understood nor recognized. Accordingly, its dynamics and recent
portrait under climate change scenario is emerging as one of the biggest challenges for
mankind, which needs to be sensibly tackled across the globe at all scales of time and space.
As a tree grows, it will continue to tie up more and more carbon. In fact, trees will continue to
store more carbon than they give off until maturity or old age at which time a homeostasis is
reached. Present chapter is focused on certain basics of carbon capture & storage (CCS) by
including role of forests in this regard. Essentials of technologies and conceptual ingredients
of CCS are described followed by emerging key issues and potentials at global and national
scale. Carbon dynamics across forests, soils and in particular in Agro-Forestry systems for
Indian conditions is reviewed and presented to visualize the prevailing scenario in this regard