Carbon sequestration of above-ground biomass of Pinus sylvestris L. in the green belt of the city of Astana

Abstract

The article presents the results of research in the pine plantations located in the green belt of the city of Astana, the dry steppe zone of Northern Kazakhstan, and in the research, the data on biomass and carbon content in various fractions of Scots pine were obtained. Assessment of morphometric parameters of the pine stands was carried out by measuring tree height and trunk diameter at breast height (DBH); to determine the carbon content, laboratory analytical methods were used. Samples were taken from each element of biomass (branches, trunk, leaves, and bark) of Scots pine, in triplicate. After that, the green mass was weighed on the analytical scales to within 0.001 g. The samples were then dried to a constant weight at a temperature of 65°C. In laboratory samples without mineralization, the content of carbon was determined using element analyser. Regression equations were used to calculate the biomass of stocks. To measure the taxation indicators and sampling of plantations, trial plots were laid in triplicate for trial plots, the height of plantations varied on average from 5.8 m to 8.4 m on the plotted trial plots, and the diameter of the trunk varied from 7.7 cm to 8.8 cm. The correlation between plant height and stem diameter was 0.745. As the studies of chemical composition in needles, bark, trunk and branches of pine trees showed, the amount of carbon was from 50.03 to 51.33%. Thus, the study of the chemical composition of the pine plantations showed that the greatest content of chemical elements, such as carbon, was in tree needles. The accumulation plantations of Pinus sylvestris L. in the green belt of the city of Astana were sequestrated 973.3 tons of carbon in the above-ground biomass varied from 2.9 to 4.8 t/ha.