Evaluating the Role of Community-Managed Forest in Carbon Sequestration and Climate Change Mitigation of Tripura, India

Community-based forest management provides an opportunity to build a sustainable link with ecology for meeting future needs. A study was carried out to understand the effect of management strategies on the biodiversity, soil nutrient, and carbon stock of two community forests practiced by Jamatia (JCF) and Halam (HCF) tribes of Tripura, northeast India. The forest managed by Jamatia is community conserved, whereas the Joint Forest Management (JFM) regulation issued by the Government of India was implemented in Halam community-based forest. JCF showed higher tree diversity (2.741) than HCF (2.176), while there was no significant variation in the total number of species in these forests. Anogeissus acuminata, Schima wallichii, and Terminalia bellirica were the most dominant species in JCF and HCF. A relatively higher amount of organic matter, nitrogen, and phosphorus content was found in JCF soils. JCF showed higher carbon stock (342.9 Mg C ha–1) than HCF (158.7 Mg C ha–1). A positive and significant correlation of SOC concentration was observed with soil moisture, SOM, and soil nutrient content. The results show that both stands were at developmental stages; however, regular extraction of biomass from HCF was attributable to lower carbon stock. We found that the Jamatia communities are proactively involved in the conservation of forests and sustainable management of biodiversity under their control. The results reveal that the agent of management can play a vital role in enhancing tree diversity, soil properties, and carbon stock in community forests.