Assessment of Climate Trends and Carbon Sequestration in a Forest Ecosystem through InVEST

By : T.V. Ramachandra , Tulika Mondal , Paras Negi , Bharath Setturu

Page No: 430-441

Abstract
Carbon sequestration constitutes a vital ecological function executed by ecosystems to mitigate global warming due to the burgeoning sustained anthropogenic activities which release greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide, etc.). The current study evaluates carbon dynamics in forest ecosystems through the InVest model with temporal land use analyses using remote sensing data from 1973 to 2021 in the Chikamagaluru district of Karnataka. Land use dynamics were assessed using temporal remote sensing data through a machinelearning-based supervised Random Forest algorithm, which shows a decline in forest cover of 28.98%, an increase in agricultural area by 5.31%, and horticulture by 42.52% in the last five decades, which has led to the depletion of carbon stock by 30683.81 Gg. Land use changes have a long-term effect on climatic variables, leading to changes in local temperature, annual rainfall, and number of rainy days in the study area.

Authors :
T.V. Ramachandra : Energy & Wetlands Research Group, Environmental Information System, Center for Ecological Sciences [CES]. Centre for Sustainable Technologies (Astra). Centre for Infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning [CiSTUP], Indian Institute of Science, Karnataka, India.
Tulika Mondal : Energy & Wetlands Research Group, Environmental Information System, Center for Ecological Sciences [CES].
Paras Negi : Energy & Wetlands Research Group, Environmental Information System, Center for Ecological Sciences [CES].
Bharath Setturu : Energy & Wetlands Research Group, Environmental Information System, Center for Ecological Sciences [CES], Chanakya University, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32381/PROD.2024.64.04.9