The role of coppice oak stand in carbon storage and CO2 uptake (Case study: Khalkhal, Iran)

Regarding to the importance of forest in carbon sequestration, this study attempted to investigate the carbon storage potential and CO2 uptake in a coppice oak stand. An area of 278 ha of Khalkhal forest located in Ardebil province, north of Iran was selected as the study area. After combining slope, aspect and hypsometric maps, 63 land units (polygons) as well as their area were determined. Then 60 sample trees were selected in such a way that all environmental and typological conditions were taken into account. After determining the fresh weight of different parts of trees in the field, their dry weight andbiomass was determined after drying in the kiln. The humus was collected and weighted from an area of 400 cm2 under canopy of each tree. To determine the organic carbon content of the biomass, ash content was deduced from dry biomass. To determine the amount of stored carbon in soil, samples were collected from 0-10 and 10-30 cm soil depths. The amount of annual sequestrated carbon in biomass and soil was estimated as 1.51 and 0.1 tons per hectare, respectively. The annual carbon dioxide uptake was 5.94 tons per ha.