Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-r5zm4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-30T03:33:21.291Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Sacred groves: a model of Zagros forests for carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2023

Aioub Moradi  and
Naghi Shabanian Open the ORCID record for Naghi Shabanian [Opens in a new window]
Aioub Moradi
Affiliation:
Department of Forestry, The Center for Research and Development of Northern Zagros Forestry, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran
Naghi Shabanian*
Affiliation:
Department of Forestry, The Center for Research and Development of Northern Zagros Forestry, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran
*
Corresponding author: Dr Naghi Shabanian; Email: n.shabanian@uok.ac.ir
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Forests are the most important carbon pools among terrestrial ecosystems, and ensuring less disturbance of sacred groves might constitute a form of forest management for carbon sequestration and climate change reduction. The carbon contents in Zagros oak sacred groves and silvopastoral lands were compared to determine the carbon sequestration potential of these forests. Using a nested sampling design, we measured total carbon content (tC ha–1; aboveground tree biomass, aboveground sapling biomass, belowground biomass, soil organic carbon, leaf litter, herbs and grasses and dead wood and fallen stumps) in both forest groves and silvopastoral lands. The mean total biomass and mean total carbon content varied between sacred groves (453.8 t ha–1 and 338.79 tC ha–1, respectively) and silvopastoral lands (89.4 t ha–1 and 113.46 tC ha–1, respectively). Mean soil organic carbon was significantly lower (71.44 tC ha–1) in silvopastoral lands than in sacred groves (125.49 tC ha–1). The mean total sequestered carbon dioxide (CO2) was 1243.36 tCO2 ha–1 in the sacred groves and 416.40 tCO2 ha–1 in silvopastoral lands. We conclude that human activities have reduced the CO2 absorption capacity of the forests. The substantial disparities between the landscapes emphasize the need to restore damaged forests, and sacred groves might be a useful model for increasing carbon storage in these forests.

Keywords

Carbon sequestrationsacred grovessilvopastoral landsZagros forests
Type
Research Paper
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 50 , Issue 3 , September 2023 , pp. 163 - 168
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Foundation for Environmental Conservation

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amanuel, W, Yimer, F, Karltun, E (2018) Soil organic carbon variation in relation to land use changes: the case of Birr watershed, upper Blue Nile River Basin, Ethiopia. Journal of Ecology and Environment 42: 16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Atsbha, T, Belayneh Desta, A, Zewdu, T (2019) Carbon sequestration potential of natural vegetation under grazing influence in Southern Tigray, Ethiopia: implication for climate change mitigation. Heliyon 5: e02329.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baul, TK, Chakraborty, A, Nandi, R, Mohiuddin, M, Kilpeläinen, A, Sultana, T (2021) Effects of tree species diversity and stand structure on carbon stocks of homestead forests in Maheshkhali Island, southern Bangladesh. Carbon Balance and Management 16: 11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cairns, MA, Brown, S, Helmer, EH, Baumgardner, GA (1997) Root biomass allocation in the world’s upland forests. Oecologia 111: 1–11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chave, J, Andalo, C, Brown, S, Cairns, MA, Chambers, JQ, Eamus, D (2005) Tree allometry and improved estimation of carbon stocks. Oecologia 147: 87–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conant, RT, Cerri, CEP, Osborne, BB, Paustian, K (2017) Grassland management impacts on soil carbon stocks: a new synthesis. Ecological Application 27: 662–668.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dibaba, A, Soromessa, T, Workineh, B (2019) Carbon stock of the various carbon pools in Gerba-Dima moist Afromontane forest, south-western Ethiopia. Carbon Balance and Management 14: 1.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dong, L, Martinsen, V, Wu, Y, Zheng, Y, Liang, C, Liu, Z, Mulder, J (2021) Effect of grazing exclusion and rotational grazing on labile soil organic carbon in north China. European Journal of Soil Science 72: 372–384.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erb, KH, Kastner, T, Plutzar, C, Bais, ALS, Carvalhais, N, Fetzel, T et al. (2018) Unexpectedly large impact of forest management and grazing on global vegetation biomass. Nature 553: 73–76.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fargione, JE, Bassett, S, Boucher, T, Bridgham, SD, Conant, RT, Cook-Patton, SC et al. (2018) Natural climate solutions for the United States. Science Advances 4: 1–15.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gebregergs, T, Tessema, ZK, Solomon, N, Birhane, E (2019) Carbon sequestration and soil restoration potential of grazing lands under exclosure management in a semi-arid environment of northern Ethiopia. Ecology and Evolution 9: 6468–6479.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Griscom, BW, Adams, J, Ellis, PW, Houghton, RA, Lomax, G, Miteva, DA et al. (2017) Natural climate solutions. Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114: 11645–11650.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoover, CM, Smith, JE (2021) Current aboveground live tree carbon stocks and annual net change in forests of conterminous United States. Carbon Balance and Management 16: 17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hu, Z, Li, S, Guo, Q, Niu, S, He, N, Li, L, Yu, G (2016) A synthesis of the effect of grazing exclusion on carbon dynamics in grasslands in China. Global Change Biololgy 22:1385–1393.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
ICIMOD, ANSAB, FECOFUN (2010) Forest Carbon Measurement Guidelines. Kathmandu, Nepal: ICIMOD, 67 pp.Google Scholar
Jazirehi, MH, Ebrahimi Rostaghi, M (2013) Silviculture in Zagros. Tehran, Iran: University of Tehran Press, 560 pp.Google Scholar
Johnsen, KH, Wear, D, Oren, R, Teskey, RO, Sanchez, F, Will, R et al. (2001) Meeting globalpolicy commitments: carbon sequestration and southern pine forests. Journal of Forestry 99: 14–21.Google Scholar
Karki, S, Joshi, NR, Udas, E, Adhikari, MD, Sherpa, S, Kotru, R et al. (2016) Assessment of Forest Carbon Stock and Carbon Sequestration Rates at the ICIMOD Knowledge Park in Godavari. Kathmandu, Nepal: ICIMOD, 41 pp.Google Scholar
Labrecque, S, Fournier, R, Luther, J, Piercey, D (2006) A comparison of four methods to map biomass from Landsat-TM and inventory data in western Newfoundland. Journal of Forest Ecology and Management 226:129–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Limpert, KE, Carnell, PE, Macreadie, PI (2021) Managing agricultural grazing to enhance the carbon sequestration capacity of freshwater wetlands. Wetlands Ecology and Management 29: 231–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, B, Ge, J (2019) Valued forest carbon sinks: how much emissions abatement costs could be reduced in China. Journal of Cleaner Prodoction 224: 455–464.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, X, Sheng, H, Wang, Z, Ma, Z, Huang, X, Li, L (2020) Does grazing exclusion improve soil carbon and nitrogen stocks in alpine grasslands on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau? A meta-analysis. Sustainability 12: 977.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ma, W, Ding, K, Li, Z (2016) Comparison of soil carbon and nitrogen stocks at grazing-excluded and yak grazed alpine meadow sites in Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, China. Ecological Engineering 87:203–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moradi, A, Shabanian, N (2022) Land-use change in the Zagros forests and its impact on soil carbon sequestration. Environmental, Development and Sustainability. Epub ahead of print. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-022-02272-z.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nosetto, MD, Jobbagy, EG, Paruelo, JM (2006) Carbon sequestration in semi-arid rangelands: comparison of Pinus ponderosa plantations and grazing exclusion in NW Patagonia. Journal of Arid Environment 67:142–156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ontl, TA, Janowiak, MK, Swanston, CW, Daley, J, Handler, S, Cornett, M et al. (2020) Forest management for carbon sequestration and climate adaptation. Journal of Forestry 118: 86–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pahlavan Yali, Z, Zarrinkafsh, M, Moeini, A (2016) Quantitative estimation of soil carbon sequestration in three land use types (orchard, paddy rice and forest) in a part of Ramsar lands, northern Iran. Journal of Water and Soil 30: 758–768.Google Scholar
Pan, Y, Birdsey, RA, Fang, J, Houghton, R, Kauppi, PE, Kurz, WA et al. (2011) A large and persistent carbon sink in the world’s forests. Science 333: 988–993.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pearson, TR, Brown, SL, Birdsey, RA (2007) Measurement Guidelines for the Sequestration of Forest Carbon. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-18. Newtown Square, PA, USA: US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station.Google Scholar
Plieninger, T, Quintas-Soriano, C, Torralba, M, Mohammadi Samani, K, Shakeri, Z (2020) Social dynamics of values, taboos and perceived threats around sacred groves in Kurdistan, Iran. People and Nature 2: 1237–1250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pungetti, G, Oviedo, G, Hooke, D (2012) Sacred Species and Sites: Advances in Biocultural Conservation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 472 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Qiu, LP, Wei, XR, Zhang, XC, Cheng, JM (2013) Ecosystem carbon and nitrogen accumulation after grazing exclusion in semiarid grassland. PLoS ONE 8: e10371.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Renhui, M, Yinzhan, L, Liqi, W, Dong, W, Yanchun, L, Yuan, M et al. (2022) Effects of long-term grazing exclusion on plant and soil properties vary with position in dune systems in the Horqin Sandy Land. CATENA 209: 105860.Google Scholar
Rice, CW (2004) Carbon cycle in soils – dynamics and management. Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment 4:164–170.Google Scholar
Salehi, A, Noormohammadi, E (2012) Effect of grazed and surface scrafication on soil properties and regeneration in centeral Zagros forests (case study: Aleshtar city forests). Journal of Forest and Wood Products 65: 315–325.Google Scholar
Santini, NS, Adame, MF, Nolan, RH, Miquelajauregui, Y, Piñero, D, Mastretta-Yanes, A et al. (2019) Storage of organic carbon in the soils of Mexican temperate forests. Journal of Forest Ecology and Management 446: 115–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schulz, K, Voigt, K, Beusch, C, Alemida-Cortez, JA, Kowarik, I, Walz, A, Cierjacks, A (2016) Grazing deteriorates the soil carbon stocks of Caatinga forest ecosystems in Brazil. Journal of Forest Ecology and Management 367: 62–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shakeri, Z (2007) Silvicultural and Ecological Effect of Galazani on Oak Trees in Baneh Forest (Kurdistan Province NW Iran). MSc thesis. Tehran, Iran: Tehran University, 65 pp.Google Scholar
Shaw, CH, Rodrigue, S, Voicu, MF, Latifovic, R, Pouliot, D, Hayne, S et al. (2021) Cumulative effects of natural and anthropogenic disturbances on the forest carbon balance in the oil sands region of Alberta, Canada; a pilot study (1985–2012). Carbon Balance and Management 16: 3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shrestha, LJ, Devkota, MP, Sharma, BK (2016) Are sacred groves of Kathmandu Valley efficient in sequestering carbon? Journal of Botany 2016: 7695154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Singh, G, Bala, N, Chaudhuri, K, Meena, R (2003) Carbon sequestration potential of common access resources in arid and semi-arid regions of northwestern India. Indian Forest 129: 859–864.Google Scholar
Soltani, A, Sadeghi Kaji, H, Kahyani, S (2020) Effects of different land-use systems (grazing and understory cultivation) on growth and yield of semi-arid oak coppices. Journal of Forestry Research 31: 2235–2244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Speed, JDM, Martinsen, V, Mysterud, A, Mulder, J, Holand, O, Austrheim, G (2014) Long-term increase in aboveground carbon stocks following exclusion of grazers and forest establishment in an alpine ecosystem. Ecosystems 17: 1138–1150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sumarga, E, Nurudin, N, Suwandhi, I (2020) Land-cover and elevation-based mapping of aboveground carbon in a tropical mixed-shrub forest area in west Java, Indonesia. Forests 11: 636.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tsegay, G, Meng, XZ (2021) Impact of ex-closure in above and below ground carbon stock biomass. Forests 12: 130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Varamesh, S (2009) Comparison of Carbon Sequestration in Broad Leaved and Needle Leaved Species in Urban Forest (Case Study: Chitgar Park of Tehran). MSc thesis. Tehran, Iran: Tarbiat Modares University, 130 pp.Google Scholar
Wade, C, Sonnier, G, Boughton, EH (2022) Does grazing affect soil carbon in subtropical humid seminatural grasslands? Rangeland Ecology & Management 80: 10–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walkley, A, Black, IA (1934) An examination of the Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Science 37: 29–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wegiel, A, Polowy, K (2020) Aboveground carbon content and storage in mature scots pine stands of different densities. Forests 11: 240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, M, Du, H, Zhou, G, Li, X, Mao, F, Dong, L et al. (2019) Estimating forest aboveground carbon storage in Hang-Jia-Hu using Landsat TM/OLI data and random forest model. Forests 10: 1004.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, Z-Y, Li, F-R, Chen, S-K, Zhang, H-R, Li, G (2011) Dynamics of vegetation and soil carbon and nitrogen accumulation over 26 years under controlled grazing in a desert shrubland. Plant and Soil 341: 257–268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhu, G, Tang, Z, Chen, L, Shangguan, Z, Deng, L (2018) Overgrazing depresses soil carbon stock through changing plant diversity in temperate grassland of the Loess Plateau. Plant, Soil and Environment 64: 1–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhu, L, Ciais, P, Bastos, A, Ballantyne, AP, Chevallier, F, Gasser, T et al. (2021) Decadal variability in land carbon sink efficiency. Carbon Balance and Managemen 16: 15.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed