Abstract:
The study of aboveground carbon content in mixed deciduous forest and teak
plantation was conducted in September 2003. The purpose was to compare aboveground
carbon content in the mixed deciduous forest, located at Hauy Kha Kaeng Wildlife
Sanctuary, and in the teak plantation of teaks aged 6, 10, 15, 23 and 24 years old, from
Thai Plywood Co. Ltd. Both study sites were located in Lansak district, Uthaithani
province.
The aboveground carbon content of the chosen areas was calculated as 50% of
the total aboveground biomass. And allometric relation equation was applied to find the
aboveground biomass of tree stands. Saplings, undergrowth, bamboo and litter were
evaporated by oven drying at about 80 oC for 48 hours, in order to get the percentages of
moisture content and then the derived percentages were used to estimate the aboveground
biomass content.
The results of the study showed that the establishment of a teak plantation over
an area where there has once been a mixed deciduous forest has as great a potential of
carbon storage as that found in the mixed deciduous forest. Moreover, the aboveground
carbon content was likely to increase according to age. That is to say, the aboveground
carbon content found in the teak plantation trees aged 15, 6, 10, 24 and 23 years old and in
the mixed deciduous forest were 33.87, 39.51, 40.82, 41.13, 55.23 and 71.60 t ha-1,
respectively. Furthermore, the relationship between density of stands and aboveground
carbon content appeared in a positive relation. That is, the greater the density of tree
stands, the greater the aboveground carbon content