Assessment and Potential of Carbon Storage Capacity of Species of Herbaceous Plants in Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Main Campus, Batu Pahat, Johor Malaysia

  • Authors

    • Yunusa Audu
    • Alona C. Linatoc
    • Aisha I
    2018-11-30
    https://doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v7i4.30.22063
  • Absorption of Carbon, Carbon Dioxide, Global Warming, Greenhouse Effect, Herbaceous Plants.

  • Abstract

    Carbon dioxide CO2 is an important trace gas in earth's atmosphere. It is a greenhouse gas that plays a vital role in regulating the earth's surface temperature through the greenhouse effect. Increase beyond the ambient concentration leads to global warming. Increase in CO2 discharge in UTHM (238.9 ha), due to increase in a number of vehicles; other greenhouse gases released from building amenities and dis-charges from neighbouring industries appeals for attention. Study was conducted on seven common species of herbaceous plants for their capacity in sequestering CO2. Estimation of carbon storage of herbaceous plants was obtained by the assessments of the aboveground standing biomass and their photosynthetic capacity. Musa sp has the highest CO2 absorption of 12.2µmol m-2 s-1, followed by Heliconia. psittacorum (10.63µmol m-2 s-1). Euphorbia tithymaloides and Costus spicatus has the lowest absorption with 3.63 and 3.76 µmol m-2 s-1 respectively. Calathea lutea and Hymenocallis latifolia shared the highest biomass accumulation of 0.04 kg. These were followed by E. tithymaloides and Alpinia purpurata with 0.02 kg. The least biomass of 0.01 kg was accumulated by H. psittacorum and C. spicatus. The total standing biomass captured by all the species of herbaceous plants is 0.13 kg. Therefore, species of herbaceous plants in UTHM have the potentials to absorb an adequate amount of CO2 from the atmosphere thereby contributing to reducing-the effects of localized global warming.

  • References

    1. [1] Abddullah, DMKB (2017) Carbon Emission Report University Tun Hussien Onn Malaysia: Universiti Tun Hussien Onn Malaysia.: Carbon Emission Report Unit.

      [2] Armecin R & Coseco W (2012), Abaca (Musa textilis Nee). Allometry for above-ground biomass and fibre production. Biomass and Bioenergy 46, 181-189.

      [3] Bhalawe S, Jadeja D, Tandel M, Gayakvad P, Parmar M, Prajapati V, & Behera L (2015), Non-Destructive Approach for Biomass Estimation and Carbon Mitigation in Different Land Use Systems. Trends in Biosciences 8(15), 3785-3790.

      [4] Elliott KJ & Clinton BD (1993), Equations for estimating biomass of herbaceous and woody vegetation in early-successional. Southern Appalachian pine-hardwood. Forests 365: US Department. of Agriculture and Forest Service. South-eastern Forest Experiment Station.

      [5] Gedefaw M, Soromessa T & Belliethathan S (2014), Forest carbon stocks in woody plants of Tara Gedam forest: Implication for climate change mitigation. Science, Technology and Arts Research Journal 3(1), 101-107.

      [6] Gore A (2014), The Turning Point: New Hope for the Climate. Rolling Stone.

      [7] Janine EV, Marinda LF, Shirley JS & Marthina M (2004), The Southern African Herbarium User Manual.

      [8] Joeri R, Michel DE, Niklas H, Taryn F, Hanna F, Harald W, Roberto S, Fu S, Keywan R & Malte M (2016), Paris Agreement climate proposals need a boost to keep warming well below 2 °C. Nature (534), 631–639.

      [9] Kumar BM (2011), Species richness and aboveground carbon stocks in the home gardens of central Kerala India. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 140(3), 430-440.

      [10] NOAA (2012) & Rajput SS (1985) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Journal of Timber Development Association of India 31(3), 12-41.

      [11] Peacock TR (1992), The preparation of plant material and determination of weight per cent ash. US Dept. of the Interior, Geological Survey.

  • Downloads

  • How to Cite

    Audu, Y., Linatoc, A. C., & I, A. (2018). Assessment and Potential of Carbon Storage Capacity of Species of Herbaceous Plants in Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Main Campus, Batu Pahat, Johor Malaysia. International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 7(4.30), 109-111. https://doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v7i4.30.22063

    Received date: 2018-11-28

    Accepted date: 2018-11-28

    Published date: 2018-11-30