Fast Growing Forests (FGF) to offset Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions

Nature-based solutions (Nbs) are seen as an effective way to mitigate climate change and stabilize the climate of the earth. Here, we report ground measurements of a newly established forest site on the campus of IIT Palakkad, Kerala India (lat = 10.809, lon =76.746). The site (approximately 1600 meter² ) was previously dominated by fountain grass, which is locally considered to be an invasive species. After land preparation, a new forest utilizing approximately 20 native species of trees was planted following Miyawaki's methodology. Direct measurements of tree diameter at the breast height (tbh) were made to estimate total standing biomass using species specific allometric equations. The standing biomass after two years is estimated to be 3261 kg (5967 kg CO₂) over the entire forest area. The total carbon sequestered during the first two years of this forest’s life is sufficient to neutralize carbon emission by a gasoline car driven for a distance of 48909  km or carbon emission by a car running on 100E fuel over a distance of 349355 km. Our work demonstrates that the carbon sequestration rate (18 tons CO₂ ha^-1 yr^-1) by the forest established using the Miyawaki method at our study site is comparable to some of the most productive forests reported in the available literature. Further, our analysis demonstrates that NbS can be made more efficient if spatial land use planning can be optimized to make room for sustainable biomass production for energy and conservation purposes.