Growing stock refers to the amount of all living trees in a particular forest area, and a growing stock per hectare indicates a highly sustainable and productive forest.
The high growing stock per hectare also indicates that the forest is providing good ecosystem service by acting as a carbon sink.
It is also a forest of high economic value. Amount of living trees in Goa forests The national figure per hectare is almost double.
“It is observed that the growing stock at the national level is estimated at 56.6 cubic meters per hectare,” the ISFR 2021 report said.
Among the states, the highest per hectare growing stock in forest is in Kerala (139.3 per hectare), followed by Uttarakhand (105.5 per hectare) and Goa (101.2 per hectare). Among the Union Territories, Ladakh has the highest per hectare growing stock in forest, followed by Jammu and Kashmir and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
In the current climate change scenario, estimating rising stocks has become important as policy makers need information for strategic planning and sustainable management of forest and forest resources.
The ISFR 2021 report has indicated that by 2030, 671 sq km or about 30% of Goa’s forest and tree cover is likely to experience a ‘high’ severity impact of climate change. This means that the temperature in the state is expected to rise by 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius, while the rainfall pattern will vary by 20 to 26%.
In this scenario, the amount of Goa’s growing stock indicates that the state’s forests are as effective as a carbon sink today.
According to the ISFR report, Goa’s forests have 2.53 million tonnes of carbon stock.
“Forests play an important role in mitigation and adaptation to climate change. Forests are considered as reservoirs, sinks and sources of carbon. Forests sequester and store more carbon than any other terrestrial ecosystem and act as a natural ‘brake’ on climate change. The diversity of forests in India makes it an effective sink of carbon,” said the Forest Survey of India report.
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