For the first time in the history of the country carbon content in forest soil is being evaluated jointly by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) and Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS).
This massive exercise will be carried out over a period of two years. Carbon estimation in forest soil will help in knowing the status of emissions.
As of date carbon emission of biomass is estimated but the content on carbon on roots and other parts of trees that are beneath the soil is seldom ascertained.
"The two-year project, which is a part of National Communication in Emissions, will lead to estimation of the content of carbon in the forest soil," ICFRE Director General Jagdish Kiswan told The Pioneer on Monday. He said the scientists of ICFRE, with the assistance and expertise of IIRS, will evaluate the carbon content.
The estimation will help in knowing the trends linked to the increase or decrease of carbon content in forest soil of the country. It will also lead to knowing of release and absorption of carbon linked to forests.
The estimation would in future also pave the way for efforts towards increasing the carbon content in the forest soil and thus earning more of carbon credits. It will also hint at framing of policies and practices linked to climate change in the country. The works for the estimation is expected to take off from June this year.
Meanwhile, in a related development, ICFRE has for the first time decided to take capacity building initiatives for its scientists in a structured manner.
The scientists in batches are being sent to Administrative Staff College Hyderabad for training programmes.
As many as fifteen thousand scientists are working at various institutions under ICFRE. The training is meant to upgrade the skills of its scientist.
