New Delhi, (PTI) Diverse forests with mixed species store 70 per cent more carbon than monocultures which have only one variety, new research has found.
Complementary traits of the different species can increase overall carbon storage and thus, mixed forests are especially effective at storing carbon, the international study including researchers from the University of Oxford, UK, found after comparing carbon stocks in mixed planted forests and monocultures, including commercial ones.
Mixed forests are also more resilient to pests, diseases, and climatic disturbances, which further raises their long-term carbon storage potential, the researchers said in their study published in the journal Frontiers in Forests and Global Change.
