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Due to the expeditious rise in anthropogenic activities and rapid extractive pressure, protected areas in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) are experiencing significant losses in ecological diversity and a substantial decline in the potential for carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation. The quantification of carbon sequestration and the understanding of its corresponding economic gain/loss are crucial for raising strict preservative concerns in protected areas with rich ecological and economic values. Transitions in land use land cover (LULC) trajectories from historical to future scenarios impact the dynamics of carbon storage and sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems. The present study extends a comprehensive 40-year (1995–2035) assessment of carbon mapping (gain/loss) as well as an economic approximation of carbon sequestration in the Askot Wildlife Sanctuary (AWLS), Western Himalaya, using satellite data. This investigation presents a novel hybrid approach by infusing machine learning algorithms and a spatial-temporal technique-based MLPnn-Markov chain model for future LULC simulation with the InVEST model that incorporates carbon mapping and economic valuation. The results show that among all the land use classes, dense forest has the highest carbon density; however, it exhibits a decreasing trend from 1995 (5,695,878.41 Mg/ha) to 2035 (4,378,439.81 Mg/ha). The economic quantification of carbon sequestration was performed by applying sensitivity analysis combined with different carbon prices and discount rates from 2020 to 2035. The observed outcomes reveal significant economic losses due to rapid forest cover decline, as indicated by a negative net present value (NPV) ranging from a minimum of ∼US$ -8 million to a maximum of ∼US$ -53 million. This study develops a valuable database by providing evidence-based decision-making and guidance for the sustainable preservation of ecosystems in the Western Himalayas and similar regions worldwide, where forest carbon sequestration is of paramount importance. The findings of the study suggest sound provisions for the conservation of forested landscapes and the development of efficient voluntary and regulatory carbon trading markets to achieve stability in forest carbon stocks. In doing so, this interdisciplinary approach addresses the growing imperative of integrating ecological and economic aspects in the context of biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. • Carbon sequestration in forests and across the landscape is performed and compared. • Remote sensing and machine learning techniques are executed for LULC simulation. • Carbon mapping is carried out in InVEST model. • Both country-level and international carbon prices are used for economic accounting. • Decline in forest cover encounters huge economic losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extension of forest area is a globally accepted tool to offset CO 2 emissions from deforestation and the combustion of fossil fuels. The common assumption is that in addition to the perceived climate benefits increasing forest area will also support biodiversity, thus making afforestation a “win-win scenario”. Based on the existing scientific evidences, we show that joined climate and biodiversity benefits are strongly context-dependent and that the outcome of afforestation is often highly questionable. In Europe, grasslands managed at low intensity contribute substantially to biodiversity conservation and carbon storage. However, many of these grasslands have been lost due to abandonment and subsequent spontaneous succession towards woody vegetation, or due to land use intensification. Moreover, grasslands are the ecosystems most often deliberately afforested in the context of EU carbon-centered policies that may thus counteract biodiversity conservation programmes. By reviewing the main EU policies targeting forests and grasslands, we found a striking ambivalence between policies and funding schemes addressing grassland conservation on the one hand (e.g. Habitats Directive, green payments within the Common Agricultural Policy) and those supporting afforestation on the other (e.g. rural development funds). We suggest three measures towards a better harmonization of the European Union policies that target forest and grassland ecosystems: (1) promoting the alignment of the decisions taken across different policy sectors; (2) focusing on the whole range of ecosystem services and biodiversity issues rather than on carbon management only; (3) valuing systems managed at low-intensity for their multifunctionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent declaration of 'UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration' recognizes the need to massively accelerate global restoration of degraded and human altered ecosystems to provide multiple environmental benefits, including mitigation of climate change impacts. Commitment to various global obligations like UNCCD and SDG-15 to achieve land degradation neutrality, sustainable land management and enhanced resilience of vulnerable populations and ecosystems requires concerted efforts at national, regional and local levels. In view of strengthening the efforts towards achieving the land neutrality the present study attempts to provide the status of 8 restoration sites located across sub-tropical to temperate region of Pithoragarh and Champawat districts in west Himalaya, which now contributes to ex-situ and in-situ biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, soil conservation and sustenance of local inhabitants, etc. The results of survival percentage revealed that most of the species planted at Jajut site showed better survival with an average of 69% as compared to Digtoli (59%) and Naikina (62%) after 3 years of plantation. Quercus leucotrichophora showed maximum survival percentage (72%) at all the sites followed by Q. glauca (63%), whereas minimum survival (49%) was observed in Zanthoxylum armatum at Naikina site. At Champawat site, height of all planted species increased significantly (p < 0.05) in 2021 as compared to 2011. The carbon stock value increased from 40.02 Mg ha−1 in 2011–65.53 Mg ha−1 in 2021. Increase in carbon stock and carbon sequestration in restoration areas over past 10 years shows higher potential of native species for carbon storage and prospective role of restoration sites in long term carbon sink. The study also attempts to bring the results of restoration activities, implications and benefits to draw some prescription to support the policy and practice interface. The mentioned case studies would be helpful to understand the good practices of restoration for ecological & socio-economic connect, and furtherance of efforts towards land restoration and biosphere integrity across Indian Himalayan Region (IHR). • The present study attempts to provide the status of 8 restoration sites in west Himalaya. • Planted species survived at the rate of 49–72% and varied among the species. • The carbon stock value increased from 40.02 Mg ha−1 in 2011–65.53 Mg ha−1 in 2021. • Restoration areas showed the potential of native species in carbon storage and sequestration. • The studies would be helpful to understand the good practices of restoration for ecological & socio-economic connect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Pricing greenhouse gas emissions is a burgeoning and possibly lucrative financial means for climate change mitigation. Emissions pricing is being used to fund emissions-abatement technologies and to modify land management to improve carbon sequestration and retention. Here we discuss the principal land-management options under existing and realistic future emissions-price legislation in Australia, and examine them with respect to their anticipated direct and indirect effects on biodiversity. The main ways in which emissions price-driven changes to land management can affect biodiversity are through policies and practices for (1) environmental plantings for carbon sequestration, (2) native regrowth, (3) fire management, (4) forestry, (5) agricultural practices (including cropping and grazing), and (6) feral animal control. While most land-management options available to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions offer clear advantages to increase the viability of native biodiversity, we describe several caveats regarding potentially negative outcomes, and outline components that need to be considered if biodiversity is also to benefit from the new carbon economy. Carbon plantings will only have real biodiversity value if they comprise appropriate native tree species and provide suitable habitats and resources for valued fauna. Such plantings also risk severely altering local hydrology and reducing water availability. Management of regrowth post-agricultural abandonment requires setting appropriate baselines and allowing for thinning in certain circumstances, and improvements to forestry rotation lengths would likely increase carbon-retention capacity and biodiversity value. Prescribed burning to reduce the frequency of high-intensity wildfires in northern Australia is being used as a tool to increase carbon retention. Fire management in southern Australia is not readily amenable for maximising carbon storage potential, but will become increasingly important for biodiversity conservation as the climate warms. Carbon price-based modifications to agriculture that would benefit biodiversity include reductions in tillage frequency and livestock densities, reductions in fertiliser use, and retention and regeneration of native shrubs; however, anticipated shifts to exotic perennial grass species such as buffel grass and kikuyu could have net negative implications for native biodiversity. Finally, it is unlikely that major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions arising from feral animal control are possible, even though reduced densities of feral herbivores will benefit Australian biodiversity greatly. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Recent practise has revealed that conservation interventions that seek to achieve multiple benefits generally face significant, if under-recognized trade-offs. REDD+ policies present prospective win–win solutions for climate change mitigation, rural development and biodiversity conservation. Notably, protecting, enhancing and restoring forests for their carbon sequestration services has the potential to additionally promote the conservation of imperiled tropical biodiversity. However, it has become increasingly apparent that efforts to design a REDD+ mechanism that optimizes emissions reductions and associated co-benefits face significant environmental and economic trade-offs. We provide a framework for conceptualizing the major related policy options, presenting the associated trade-offs as a continuum and as functions of two key factors: (1) geographic targeting, and (2) the selection of specific forest management activities. Our analysis highlights the challenges of assessing trade-offs using existing data and valuation schemes, and the difficulty of paying for and legislating biodiversity co-benefits and safeguards within a future REDD+ mechanism. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]