India’s forest health declining despite increase in green cover: IIT study
The degradation of forests may threaten biodiversity, timber production, livelihoods of forest dwellers and long-term climate resilience, the IIT Kharagpur scientists have warned
Kolkata: India’s green cover may be rising due to afforestation programs across the country but the health of our forests is declining as trees are not being able to properly carry out photosynthesis, claims a new study by scientists of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kharagpur.
The degradation of forests may threaten biodiversity, timber production, livelihoods of forest dwellers and long-term climate resilience, the scientists have warned.
“While India is adding more greenery and contributing to global terrestrial carbon sequestration, its forest health is steadily declining due to reduced photosynthetic efficiency,” said Jayanarayanan Kuttippurath, associate professor at Centre for Ocean, River, Atmosphere and Land Sciences, IIT Kharagpur.
Photosynthesis is the process through which green plants use sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to produce their own food (glucose) and release oxygen.
The study, titled “Weakening of forest carbon stocks due to declining Ecosystem Photosynthetic Efficiency under the current and future climate change scenarios in India”, was published in ScienceDirect in August this year.
“Our study suggests that the photosynthetic efficiency of Indian forests has declined by 5% between 2010–2019 compared to the previous decade 2000–2009. The decline is most pronounced in pristine forests of the Eastern Himalaya, Western Ghats and Indo-Gangetic Plain,” he added.
According to the India State for Forest Report of 2023 published by the Forest Survey of India, the total tree green cover in the country under agroforestry was estimated to be 1,27,590 sq km. There was a rise of 20% in the total tree green cover under agroforestry in the last one decade.
According to the study done by Kuttippurath and Rahul Kashyap, a doctor researcher at the Centre for Ocean, River, Atmosphere and Land Sciences, much of the decrease in forest health is contributed by global warming driven by reduced soil moisture and higher air temperatures. Wildfires and landslides are the other natural factors. However, deforestation, mining, and other development activities also contribute to the decline in forest health.
Climate projections suggest the weakening of the forest carbon sinks and declining forest health and is likely to be stronger in the future due to climate change and anthropogenic interventions. The degradation of forest resources could be a concern for the economy and it would impact timber production, market, planting intensity and lives of forest dwellers in India.
“It also threatens biodiversity and pushes them towards extinction. Degradation of forests in ecologically fragile regions can lead to more frequent climatic extremes in the future,” stated Kashyap, lead author of the study.
“It is imperative to avoid misconstruing forest-based climate mitigation as a solution to current anthropogenic carbon emission levels. In the future, accelerated deforestation and forest degradation due to changing climate, rising extremes, agricultural expansion, plantation growth, and rapid developmental activities can lead to savannisation of Indian forests,” said Kuttippurath.
The study has suggested a slew of measures including preservation of indigenous forests, sustainable forest management practices, scientific afforestation programmes, substantial reduction in carbon emissions and advanced carbon capture technologies to achieve sustainability and India’s target of net zero emissions by 2070.
