SYLLABUS

GS-3: Environment Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Context:

Recently, a study by IIT Kharagpur indicates that despite an increase in green cover, India’s forests are weakening under climate stress, reducing their ability to absorb carbon dioxide.

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This study was conducted by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur and published in the journal Resources, Conservation & Recycling.

This analysis is the first of its kind linking increases in forest greenness with changes in carbon sequestration capacity.

This study shows that India’s carbon sequestration potential has declined by 5 to 12 per cent due to warming and drying conditions.

• Carbon sequestration potential refers to the capacity of various natural and technological systems to capture and store atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) to mitigate climate change. 

This finding underlines that greening does not necessarily mean that the forests are healthy or resilient.

Key Findings of the Study

• This research found that reduced soil moisture and rising temperatures have added stress to forest ecosystems across the country.
• This stress has led to a decline in photosynthetic efficiency, carbon absorption and water-use efficiency of Indian forests.
• This decline was most visible in the Eastern Himalayas, Western Ghats, parts of Central India and the Indo-Gangetic Plain.
• This study shows that pristine forests in the Eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats have experienced the sharpest declines due to high soil moisture stress and greater aridity.
• India contributes about 7 per cent to global carbon sinks despite having only 2 per cent of the world’s forest cover.
• This research warns that accelerated warming may reduce carbon sequestration in India’s forests by as much as 15 per cent between 2040 and 2050.
• This projection suggests that forest biomass could shrink by 23 per cent and the leaf carbon-to-nitrogen ratio could fall by 14 per cent.

Rising Climate Stress on Forest Ecosystems

• This decline is linked to a reduction of rainfall by 1.1 per cent and a fall in soil moisture by 2.2 per cent.
• This study found that aridity has significantly increased, indicated by an 8.2 per cent rise in climatic water deficit and a 0.4 per cent increase in vapour pressure deficit.
• This decline has been further aggravated by an 8.7 per cent increase in wildfire events between 2010 and 2019.

Human Pressures and Forest Demographics

• This study points out that over half of the forests in the North East and Central India show moderate to low ecological integrity due to land-use changes and fragmentation.
• This condition has reduced the resilience of forest ecosystems and made them more vulnerable to external stresses.
• This study highlights that the Western Ghats lost about 7 per cent of their forest cover between 2001 and 2020.
• This research shows that human population inside forested areas rose by 40 to 60 per cent between 2000 and 2019, further intensifying pressure on forest resources.
• This study notes that most Indian forests are relatively young and lie in the age group of 30 to 60 years, concentrated in the foothills of the Himalayas, the North East, Central India and the Western Ghats.
• This analysis shows that younger forests dominate parts of the Ghats, eastern Central India and the Indo-Gangetic Plain, while older forests between 60 and 150 years survive mainly in the higher Himalayas.

Status of Forests in India (ISFR 2023)

Forest and Tree Cover: India’s total forest and tree cover is 827,357 square kilometers covering 25.17% of India’s total geographical area (GA), with forest cover at 21.76% and tree cover at 3.41%.

Carbon Sink: India has achieved a carbon sink of 30.43 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent. (In line with India's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) target)

Forest Carbon Stock: India’s forest carbon stock is estimated at 7,285.5 million tonnes, showing an increase of 81.5 million tonnes compared to 2021.

Largest Forest Cover (Area-wise):

• Madhya Pradesh
• Arunachal Pradesh
• Chhattisgarh

States/UTs with Highest Percentage of Forest Cover with respect to total geographical area:

• Lakshadweep: 91.33%
• Mizoram: 85.34%
• Andaman & Nicobar Islands: 81.62%

Source: 
Downto Earth
PIB
Hindustan Times