Indian forest health wilting despite greening effort

While India is experiencing significant greening and contributing to global terrestrial carbon sequestration, its forest health is steadily declining due toreduced photosynthetic efficiency.

- Meena Janardhan

Highlighting this paradox, an Indian Press Information bureau (PIB) report presents this analysis from a recent study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur.

India may be gaining tree cover, but its forests are growing weaker. Forests across the country are showing signs of declining health under the stress of a warming climate, reducing their ability to absorb carbon dioxide according to this new study, says a Down to Earth (DTE) report. The analysis, the first of its kind, found that despite an apparent increase in India's green cover, there is a mismatch between forest growth and the carbon being sequestered.

Published in the journal 'Resources, Conservation and Recycling', the study is titled 'Weakening of forest carbon stocks due to declining Ecosystem Photosynthetic Efficiency under the current and future climate change scenarios in India'. It is the first to link increases in forest "greenness" with changes in carbon sequestration. The authors analysed the climate's influence on the forests' efficiency in using carbon for growth and water for photosynthesis. It showed a decline in photosynthetic efficiency, carbon absorption and water-use efficiency in forests across India, both under present and projected climate conditions.