Assessment of forest cover and carbon stock changes in sub-tropical pine forest of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), Pakistan using multi-temporal Landsat satellite data and field inventory

• Published in: PloS one 2020-01, Vol.15 (1), p.e0226341-e0226341
• Main Authors: Khan, Iftikhar Ahmad, Khan, Mobushir Riaz, Baig, Muhammad Hasan Ali, Hussain, Zaker, Hameed, Nasir, Khan, Junaid Aziz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Biology and Life Sciences; Biomass; Carbon - analysis; Carbon capture and storage; Carbon dioxide; Carbon dioxide emissions; Carbon sequestration; Coniferous forests; Conservation; Conservation of Natural Resources; Deforestation; Earth Sciences; Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Ecosystem; Emissions; Engineering and Technology; Environmental management; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Forest conservation; Forest management; Forestry; Forests; Land use planning; Landsat; Landsat satellites; Pakistan; Physical Sciences; Pinus - growth & development; Reforestation; Remote sensing; Remote Sensing Technology - methods; Research and Analysis Methods; Satellite data; Satellite imagery; Satellites; Stocks; Sustainability management; Sustainable forestry; Tropical forests; Vegetation
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226341

This study aimed at estimating temporal (1989-2018) change in forest cover, carbon stock and trend in corresponding CO2 emissions/sequestration of a sub-tropical pine forest (STPF) in AJK, Pakistan. Our field inventory estimation shows an average above ground biomass (AAGB) accumulation of 0.145 Kt/ha with average carbon stock (ACS) value of 0.072 Kt/ha. Landsat TM, ETM+ and OLI images of 1989, 1993, 1999, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2018 were used to extract vegetation fractions through Linear Spectral Mixture Analysis (LSMA) and forest area was calculated for respective years. Based on the forest area and estimated ACS value, the biomass carbon stock with corresponding CO2 emissions/sequestration was worked out for each time and change in forest carbon stock was determined for different time periods from 1989 to 2018. Our analysis shows net increase of 561 ha in forest cover and 40.39 Kt of ACS along with increase in corresponding CO2 sequestrations of 147.83 Kt over the study period. The results based on combination of remote sensing and field inventory provide valuable information and scientific basis to plan and ensure sustainable forest management (SFM) through reforestation, protection and conservation to enhance and maintain adequate forest cover and reduce CO2 emissions.