Estimation of Carbon Sequestration Potential of Urban Trees in Educational Institution: With Special Reference to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University Campus, Delhi, India

Abstract Trees assimilate the atmospheric carbon through photosynthesis that stores tremendous CO2 from the atmosphere in biomass. Urban trees play a significant role in accumulating atmospheric CO2 in biomass and hence help climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation. The study carried out on the campus of GGS IP University, Dwarka, Delhi. The living biomass stored in the trees of the campus calculated using allometric equations. The total area of campus is 60.436 acres that have 1657 trees in number. The diameter at Breast Height (DBH) of each tree was measured. The results reveal that Total Biomass and Carbon Stored are 248.29 tons and 124.14 tons, respectively. There is a total of 40 different species belonging to 21 families. Ficus virens is the dominant species followed by Ficus benjamina and Putranjiva roxburghii, respectively. In order to increase the carbon sinks, it is necessary to carry out the afforestation periodically. Therefore, a similar carbon sequestration study is required every ten years for green space planning, which is crucial in keeping ecosystem services optimal for the University Campus or educational institutes.