Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

POLYALTHIA LONGIFOLIA: CARBON DYNAMICS

Valaya Mithbavkar, Mrunmayi Jadhav, Dhruvi Ganekar and Sagar Gavas

Abstract

There is a significant increase in pollution due to multiple man-made factors, hence conservative measures are “need of the hour”. The effects of conditions like climate change and global warming are ever increasing. Increase in emission of toxic gasses into the atmosphere is turning into a serious threat to the ecology. The only solution is reduction or stabilization of harmful factors in the environment. This can be done through eco-friendly, non-destructive methods of carbon estimation like biomass assessment by measuring dimensions of the trees. Polyalthia longifolia is one such boon of a species that contributes greatly against pollution. The main objective is to study the P. longifolia species and estimate its biomass, to understand its carbon dynamics and evaluate the impact of the species against atmospheric pollution. A total of 70 trees of Polyalthia longifolia were considered under current study, present in the campus area of D.G. Ruparel College in Mumbai City, coordinates 19° 1' 40"NL & 72° 50' 42'’EL. P. longifolia has sequestrated an average of 302.5528 kg/tree of Carbontill date and an average of 1109.3604 tons of CO2 equivalent was obtained considering above ground biomass and below ground biomass of the tree. This study shows that the height and the Girth at breast height (GBH) of the tree have direct correlation which confirms that the height and GBH highly influence the carbon sequestration potential.