Estimation and Prediction of Biomass Carbon Stocks in India Using Remote Sensing: Implications for Emissions Reduction and Bioenergy Potential |Chapter 4 | Current Research on Geography, Earth Science and Environment Vol. 3

 

As the global community transitions towards more sustainable energy sources, bioenergy has emerged as a promising solution, particularly for countries with substantial agricultural resources like India. With its vast reserves of organic waste and residues, India holds significant potential to transform biomass into clean, renewable energy. The objective of this study is to estimate the average availability of biomass in India in the year 2010 and predict it in the year 2025 with the help of high-resolution imagery through Google Earth Engine and GIS, also estimating the release of CO2 into the atmosphere if the same biomass is not utilised. The analysis utilises NASA’s harmonised global maps of aboveground and belowground biomass carbon density for the year 2010 at a 300-m spatial resolution. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) product provides information about annual Gross and Net Primary Productivity (GPP and NPP) at 500m pixel resolution. The range of average above-ground biomass (agb) in 2010 varies from 0.5338 - 93.644, below-ground biomass (bgb) 1.015- 22.474, and Total biomass (TBM) 1.5488- 116.118 kg*C/m2 as computed from MODIS. Corresponding Total Biomass quantity in year 2010 is 4.39179 billion Ton and CO2 release in atmosphere is 11.539218400000001 billion Ton. However, the Gross Primary Production is 4.79646005 billion tons. However, prediction was made with NASA imagery in conjunction with Vegetation indices, Land Cover and FPAR/LAI, the results obtained are in the range of average above ground bio-mass (agb) in 2010 varies from 0.000 – 79, below ground bio-mass (bgb) 0.000- 22, and Total bio-mass (TBM) 0- 101 mg/Ha. Corresponding Total Biomass quantity in the year 2010 is 4.112982692983341 billion tons and CO2 release in the atmosphere is 13.25737496044534 billion tons. However, predicted figures in the year 2025: the above-ground biomass (agb) 85.73578643798828 mg/Ha, below-ground biomass (bgb) 22.05862045288086 mg/Ha, and Total biomass (TBM) 4.83646174936528 billion tons. Correlation and R-squared values are 0.9882423543764696 and 0.9766229509835477. The findings show that remote sensing, being an advanced technology, is quite useful for quick and reliable estimations of vegetation biomass and carbon over large areas. The study highlights that regions such as the Himalayas, North-East India, Eastern states, and the Western Ghats possess particularly high biomass potential. Future biomass research should focus on leveraging advanced technologies, addressing methodological gaps, improving data integration, and ensuring that outcomes are actionable for environmental and policy challenges.

 

Author(s) Details

Praveer Agrawal
GAIL (India) Ltd., India.

 

Rajani Kant Awasthi
Sharda University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.

 

 

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