ISSN (Print): 2328-3777, ISSN (Online): 2328-3785, ISSN (CD-ROM): 2328-3793 American International Journal of Research in Formal, Applied & Natural Sciences AIJRFANS 14-127; © 2014, AIJRFANS All Rights Reserved Page 65 AIJRFANS is a refereed, indexed, peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary and open access journal published by International Association of Scientific Innovation and Research (IASIR), USA (An Association Unifying the Sciences, Engineering, and Applied Research) Available online at http://www.iasir.net Carbon Sequestration in Tree Plantations at Kurukshetra in Northern India Pooja Arora and Smita Chaudhry* Institute of Environmental Studies Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, 136119 Haryana, India I. Introduction Kyoto Protocol has recognized forestry as a sink measure for atmospheric greenhouse gases under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in terms of afforestation and reforestation [1]. Tropical forestry carbon projects are being implemented to reward increased ecosystem carbon (C) sequestration to mitigate anthropogenic emissions ([2], [3]). Tree plantations may contribute in restoring forest ecosystem services and providing economic options to local communities through improved forest management practices ([4], [5], [6]). Tree growth serves as an important means to capture and sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide in vegetation, soils and biomass products [7]. Carbon sequestration can be defined as biotic process whereby the atmospheric CO 2 is transferred into a long lived C pool [8]. About two-third of terrestrial carbon is sequestered in the standing forest, forest under storey plant, leaf and forest debris and in forest soils [9]. With the increase of atmospheric CO 2 concentration, plants’ carbon storage potential could increase due to greater assimilation of carbon through the process of photosynthesis [10]. Carbon sequestration and storage in soils serves as an important means of reducing GHGs in the atmosphere to mitigate predicted climate changes. The level of organic C in a given soil at any one time depends on complex interactions of climate, soil physical, chemical, biological processes ([11], [12]) appropriate forests species and management practices. Further, the quantity and quality of SOC pools are strong determinants of soil quality in terms of biomass productivity and environment moderation capacity ([13], [14]). Estimation of soil C change is essential to determine the amount of carbon contributed by plants to soil C stock [15]. Soil carbon stock usually increases over time after planting trees [16] due to carbon input from litterfall and the turnover of dead roots [17] representing that the higher growth of forest plantation would lead to higher soil carbon accumulation. Soil C sink is being viewed as one that could potentially have a significant impact on sequestering CO 2 emissions [18]. Carbon accumulation in soil can be facilitated through the formation of a well soil macro-aggregated structure [19]. Aggregate stability is significantly correlated with SOC due to the binding action of humic substances and other microbial by-products [20]. Forest types also influence soil microbial biomass and activities by determining the quantity and quality of organic matter inputs in to the forest floor [21]. Fluctuations in the size of soil microbial biomass during the growing season are considered an important factor in controlling the turnover of soil carbon and nitrogen [22]. Abstract: Plantations of Eucalyptus tereticornes, Tectona grandis, Syzygium cumini were selected in the Kurukshetra University Campus for determining their potential to sequester carbon in vegetation and soil. The plant biomass was 169.44 Mgha -1 in E. tereticornes, 153.31 Mgha -1 in T.grandis and 132.59 Mgha -1 in S.cumini accounting for maximum carbon allocation in E. tereticornes (81.33MgCha -1 ). The vegetation carbon pool T.grandis and S. Cumini was 73.58MgCha -1 and 63.64 MgCha -1 respectively. Total Soil organic carbon stock (SOC) down to 100 cm depth was maximum in S. cumini (77.72 MgCha -1 ) followed by E. tereticornes (74.69 MgCha -1 ) and T. grandis (55.46 MgCha -1 ). Microaggregates contributed highest to the % weight distribution of soil aggregate size fraction in all the depths and study sites whereas percent organic carbon content was higher in macroaggregates. The soil microbial biomass carbon was found to be maximum in rainy season. Amongst the species, S.cumini had highest amount of soil microbial biomass carbon followed by T. grandis and E. tereticornes. Key words: Biomass, Microbial biomass carbon, Soil Carbon, Soil aggregates, Tree plantations