CARBON SEQUESTRATION POTENTIAL IN COMMUNITY MANAGED FORESTS IN MAHOTTARI DISTRICT OF CENTRAL NEPAL A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE CENTRAL DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TRIBHUVAN UNIVERSITY NEPAL FOR THE AWARD OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN BOTANY BY RAM ASHESHWAR MANDAL JANUARY,

Abstract

Forest carbon sequestration plays a significant role in mitigation and adaptation to the impacts of the climate change. The carbon sequestration is accounted as carbon credit for reducing emission from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) programme. On the other hand, increasing concentration of CO2 emission contributes to green house gases (GHGs), which are mainly responsible for global warming and consequence is impacts of climate change. These, both need intensive scientific records to assess them, the former needs the records of carbon stock change while the latter one needs the record of sources of GHGs emission particularly the CO2 and CH4 emission. Such researches are very limited in Nepal. Thus, this study is objectively carried out to assess the specieswise Importance value index (IVI) and carbon stock; to assess the carbon stock in community managed forests; to identify the carbon sequestration potential and confrontation for carbon trade; to evaluate the carbon stocks for sustainable management of forests; to appraise the plant biodiversity status and its relationship with the forest carbon stock; to identify drivers of deforestation and forest degradation and its effects on carbon stocks in community managed forests and to quantify the CO2 and CH4 emission from domestic fuel and livestock keeping of household living near to forest and distant from the forests.