Biodiversity and carbon stocks of the understory vegetation as indicators for forest health in the Zabarwan Mountain Range, Indian Western Himalaya

Carbon stock and diversity of species together address the two most pressing concerns for successful ecosystem functioning and management, namely climate change and biodiversity loss. Understory vegetation is a significant indicator of plant biodiversity, contributing to forest carbon storage, sustaining species, and providing many ecological services. However, little research has been done about the contribution of the understory carbon stock in the forests, most likely because these understory components only make up a small portion of the total carbon stock of the forest ecosystem. To fill this knowledge gap, the current study sought to study the baseline understory (shrub and herb) diversity and carbon stock from the Zabarwan Mountain Range. Data on the characteristics of the understory vegetation in five different forest types were gathered using a random sample method. Using the Pearson method, we calculated the correlation coefficient between the diversity parameters and the carbon stock. The calculated average total carbon stock in the understory was determined to be 3.93 Mg C/ha (1.55–9.2 Mg C/ha). The shrub layer contributed a maximum value of 82 % of carbon stock. The increasing trends in total understory carbon were Parrotiopsis forest Broad-leaved forest > Acacia forest > Pinus forest > Parrotiopsis forest. Overall, the data show that coniferous-dominated woodlands had higher understory carbon stocks than other kinds of woodlands. The data acquired highlights the importance of shrub carbon stock storage in the understory layer in this Himalayan region. The current research on understory vegetation provides strong evidence for maintaining forest management practices that enable and encourage the planting of multiple layers of vegetation in landscape restoration as approaches to improve biodiversity while increasing resistance to climate change.