Assessment of Carbon Sequestration Potential of Tree Species in Amity University Campus Noida

Abstract

Urban green spaces, particularly trees, have great potential to sequester carbon from the atmosphere and mitigate the impacts of climate change in cities. Large university campuses offer prominent space where such green spaces can be developed in order to offset the increasing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as other benefits. Amity University, Noida, is spread over 60 acres with dense tree plantations in and around the campus. The present study is a sustainability initiative to inventory the tree species on the campus and assess their total carbon sequestration potential (CSP). The above- and below-ground biomasses were estimated using the non-destructive sampling method. Individual trees on the campus were measured for their height and diameter at breast height (DBH), and estimates of carbon storage were performed using allometric equations. There is a total of 45 different tree species on the campus with the total CSP equivalent to approximately 139.86 tons. The results also reveal that Ficus benjamina was the predominant species on the campus with CSP equivalent to 30.53 tons, followed by Alstonia scholaris with carbon storage of 16.38 tons. The study reports that the ratio of native to exotic species is 22:23 or almost 1:1. The present work highlights the role of urban forests or urban green spaces, not only as ornamental and aesthetic plantations but also in mitigating the impacts of climate change at a local level. Higher education institutes have an important role in expanding their green cover so as to act as local carbon sinks.