Variations of biomass and carbon contents in different traits and components of herbaceous species from tropical grassland
Journal Title: African Journal of Biological Sciences - Year 2019, Vol 1, Issue 2
Abstract
Grasslands play a critical role in the global storage of atmospheric carbon (C). Precise estimation of C contents in different plant components is essential to formulate a strategy for mitigating the atmospheric C. Biomass (B) and C of different herbaceous plant components at species, functional group and site levels from tropical grassland locating on the campus of Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India were estimated. For this; 117 herbaceous species just-before flowering were harvested. B and C contents for each species and component were measured and statistically analyzed. The measured C (g plant-1) across the components varied from 0.08 to 31.12. On gm-2 basis; it varied between 29 (leaf) and 49 (root). Plant components, species and functional groups in isolation caused significant differences in the measured C. In the present study; the C content of stem was greater than the leaf and root. The perennial, erect, leguminous and native traits had greater C than the others. Therefore, this observation revealed that the perennial, erect, leguminous and native plants could be a better option for reducing the atmospheric CO2 by capturing it and then converting into B through photosynthesis. Further, the fitted regression equation between the root and shoot for B and C could be used for the extrapolation of B and C of the root component based on the shoot component. The conservative field measurement methods may give precise data on B and C but are destructive to grassland, difficult, time-consuming, and costly to cover at large scale. Hence, the present work could be substantial for the estimation of root C based on shoot component.
Authors and Affiliations
Preeti Verma, Sagar R, Hariom Verma, Abhishek Rai, Pratibha Chaturvedi, Prem Pratap Singh, Kuldeep Kumar, Sandeep Kumar Singh
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP537838
- DOI 10.33472/AFJBS.1.2.2019.13-45
- Views 186
- Downloads 0
Analysis of certain biochemical indices on alloxan induced diabetic rats administered with protein isolated and purified from Vernonia amygdalina
This study investigated the effect of protein isolate from leaf extract of Vernonia amygdalina in diabetic rats. Thirty (30) adults male Wistar rats were randomly divided into six (6) groups of five (5) each based on the...
Study of chorioamnionitis among women with preterm birth at Ruhengeri referral hospital
Background: Chorioamnionitis is the association of microorganisms infection in fetal membrane, placental membrane and amniotic fluid. About 2 to 4% of chorioamnionitis occurs in full-term deliveries, but higher than this...
Comparative growth and survival performance of sea cucumber (Holothuria scabra) in co-cultured pen system with commercial macroalgae
Mariculture has recently been adopted in many parts of coastal East Africa as a source of income and employment to many women and heartbroken fishermen who are the main victim of dwindling wild stock of aquatic resources...
Influence of mangrove deforestation and land use change on trophic organization of fish assemblages in creek systems
The impacts of human related activities on trophic structure of mangrove associated fish species, was investigated by sampling fish in mangrove creeks. Trophic organization and stable isotope signatures (δ13C and δ15N) o...
Phylogenetic and morphological diversity of culturable cyanobacteria from Lake Magadi in Kenya
Lake Magadi is an alkaline saline Lake in Kenya, which lies on the Great Eastern Rift valley. Although the lake is characterized by extremes of salt, pH and temperature, it supports diverse groups of cyanobacteria. In th...