Carbon Footprint of Karnataka:
Accounting of Sources and Sinks
T. V. Ramachandra and Setturu Bharath
Abstract Higher greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint with the burgeoning anthropogenic activities has altered the energy cycle contributing to the changes in the
climate with the global warming. Imbalances are evident with the increasing levels
of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentrations in the atmosphere. The increased loads of
Green House Gas (GHG) emission due to a higher release of carbon content are
causing loss of ecosystem services further resulting in climate changes. The forests
ecosystems account for ~82% of the continental biomass, a source for higher terrestrial carbon sequestration, playing a vital role in maintaining the carbon cycle and
provision of various goods and services, which play a primary role in human’s socioeconomic development. The various initiatives and concerns across the globe are rising
to account for the carbon emissions and finding the potential measures for regulation.
The carbon dynamics in the Karnataka state has been investigated considering the
present status of ecosystems, quantification of sector-wise emissions, and projected
likely change in sequestration by modeling land-use changes. Karnataka state now
has 15% of the geographical area under forest compared with 21% in 1985. The
total above and below ground biomass from forests of Karnataka was 782.1 (Tera
Gram) in 1985 and reduced to 519.36 Tg by 2019 due to the largescale land-use
changes leading to deforestation and land degradation. The loss of 168 Tg carbon
sequestration potential confirms the extent of anthropogenic pressure on the state’s
forest. Carbon sequestered is about 16.1 Tg/year, whereas total emission is around
150.65 Tg. The various sources of carbon emissions were accounted for covering
livestock, agriculture to industries for the year 2019 as 150.65Tg, which accounts
5% of India’s total emission. Around 11% of the emission has been captured by
the forests of Karnataka. The sequestered carbon accounts to INR 34 billion ($0.5
T. V. Ramachandra (B) · S. Bharath
Energy and Wetlands Research Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science,
Bangalore, India
e-mail: tvr@iisc.ac.in
S. Bharath
e-mail: setturb@iisc.ac.in
T. V. Ramachandra
Centre for Sustainable Technologies (Astra), Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to
Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
S. S. Muthu (eds.), Carbon Footprint Case Studies, Environmental Footprints
and Eco-design of Products and Processes, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9577-6_3
53
Accounting of Sources and Sinks
T. V. Ramachandra and Setturu Bharath
Abstract Higher greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint with the burgeoning anthropogenic activities has altered the energy cycle contributing to the changes in the
climate with the global warming. Imbalances are evident with the increasing levels
of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentrations in the atmosphere. The increased loads of
Green House Gas (GHG) emission due to a higher release of carbon content are
causing loss of ecosystem services further resulting in climate changes. The forests
ecosystems account for ~82% of the continental biomass, a source for higher terrestrial carbon sequestration, playing a vital role in maintaining the carbon cycle and
provision of various goods and services, which play a primary role in human’s socioeconomic development. The various initiatives and concerns across the globe are rising
to account for the carbon emissions and finding the potential measures for regulation.
The carbon dynamics in the Karnataka state has been investigated considering the
present status of ecosystems, quantification of sector-wise emissions, and projected
likely change in sequestration by modeling land-use changes. Karnataka state now
has 15% of the geographical area under forest compared with 21% in 1985. The
total above and below ground biomass from forests of Karnataka was 782.1 (Tera
Gram) in 1985 and reduced to 519.36 Tg by 2019 due to the largescale land-use
changes leading to deforestation and land degradation. The loss of 168 Tg carbon
sequestration potential confirms the extent of anthropogenic pressure on the state’s
forest. Carbon sequestered is about 16.1 Tg/year, whereas total emission is around
150.65 Tg. The various sources of carbon emissions were accounted for covering
livestock, agriculture to industries for the year 2019 as 150.65Tg, which accounts
5% of India’s total emission. Around 11% of the emission has been captured by
the forests of Karnataka. The sequestered carbon accounts to INR 34 billion ($0.5
T. V. Ramachandra (B) · S. Bharath
Energy and Wetlands Research Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science,
Bangalore, India
e-mail: tvr@iisc.ac.in
S. Bharath
e-mail: setturb@iisc.ac.in
T. V. Ramachandra
Centre for Sustainable Technologies (Astra), Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to
Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
S. S. Muthu (eds.), Carbon Footprint Case Studies, Environmental Footprints
and Eco-design of Products and Processes, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9577-6_3
53