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Above-ground Biomass stockpile of Trees in Southern Tropical Region of G. Venkataswamy Naidu College Campus in Kovilpatti taluk, Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu

. Mahalingam Rajadurai, Makesh Kumar B, Premnath Vijay, N. Mariselvam N, Sesubalan D and Aravind S


Abstract

This study aims to assess the density, species richness, basal area (BA) and estimate the above-ground biomass (AGB) stockpile of trees on the G. Venkataswamy Naidu College campus located in Kovilpatti taluk, Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu. The study area has been categorized as the Southern Tropical Region (STR). A total of 29.1 hectares (72 acres) were randomly surveyed. All the living trees with >10 cm diameter at breast height (DBH) was measured at 1.37 cm above the ground. A total of 116 individual trees >10 cm DBH were documented. In the study area, a total number of ten species were recorded from ten genera and six families. The Fabaceae family has the maximum number of species (5 species), whereas the other 5 families each have one species. The total basal area was recorded as 91.497 m² ha־ˡ. The total amount of AGB 51.944 Mg ha־ˡ were found in the STR. The contribution of different species in terms of total AGB varied significantly. Syzygium cumini stocked 18.25% (9.483 Mg ha־ˡ) of AGB followed by Tamarindus indica 18.01% (9.358 Mg ha־ˡ) and Albizia lebbeck 15.12% (7.855 Mg ha־ˡ), whereas remaining 7 species collectively stocked 48.60% (25.247 Mg ha־ˡ) of AGB. It is comparable with the range of biomass stockpiles recorded in Indian dry forests. The study area experiences lesser mean annual rainfall and >6 months dry season. Further, endowed with large-trunk and medium size leaved trees, hence stocked a relatively median AGB in trees. Key words: Quantitative ecological survey, Above-ground biomass, Southern Tropical Region, Tamil Nadu

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