Agroforestry, a traditional land management practice, offers several opportunities to meet financial and ecological goals. In the present study, the above and belowground biomass accumulation, carbon storage, and sequestration capacity of Bombax ceiba (L.) agroforestry trees were evaluated using a non-destructive, species-specific volume equation in the arid areas of Pakistan. Agroforestry plots containing B. ceiba trees aged between 1 to 15 years were purposefully selected to assess biomass and carbon dynamics across age classes. Tree inventory was conducted in 375 (0.405 ha) agroforestry plots and tree height and diameter at breast height (DBH) was measured. The biomass was computed between the range of 1.65 Mg ha −1 to 216.17 Mg ha −1 . The minimum total biomass was computed at 1 year of age and maximum was computed at 15 years of age. The overall carbon stocks demonstrated a positive correlation with age, indicating an increase with the increase in age of the trees: The carbon stocks ranged from 0.79 Mg ha −1 to 103.76 Mg ha −1 . The minimum carbon stocks were computed in one year and maximum were computed in the trees of 15 years age group. The carbon sequestration rate (CSR) in mature B. ceiba trees (12–15 years) varied from 5.18 Mg ha −1 to 5.47 Mg ha −1 per year. The soil carbon stock (SOC) increased with age and ranged from 16.02 Mg ha −1 to 35.89 Mg ha −1 while displaying a decrease with increasing soil depth. The total ecosystem carbon stock, including both tree and soil components, exhibited a range of 18.32 Mg ha −1 at 1 year of age to 141.31 Mg ha −1 at 15 years of age. The results highlighted that B. ceiba trees have a significant potential to capture carbon and reduce atmospheric CO 2 emissions and can be used for developing carbon trading policies and agroforestry financing.
Yasin et al. (Thu,) studied this question.