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Environ Monit Assess (2021) 193:841
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09619-5
Urban tree carbon density and ­CO2 equivalent of National
Zoological Park, Delhi
Snehlata · Aishwarya Rajlaxmi · Manoj Kumar   
Received: 22 June 2021 / Accepted: 12 November 2021
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Abstract  In a highly urbanized city like Delhi,
the urban forest plays a vital role in climate change
mitigation by capturing and storing carbon diox-
ide ­(CO2) from the atmosphere. Urban vegetation
helps in increasing carbon sink and ­CO2 equivalent
­(CO2eq) and also provides other aesthetic and psy-
chological environmental benefits. To understand
how urban trees are vital for carbon sink, the pre-
sent study aimed to quantify the carbon density and
­CO2eq in trees at National Zoological Park (NZP),
New Delhi, a tropical semi-arid region of India. For
this, we estimated tree biomass or dry matter content
of 25 species with the help of allometric equations
which are available in published literature and appli-
cable for the tropical region. It was observed that the
highest diameter at breast height (DBH) was contrib-
uted by Ficus sp. while the maximum density among
adult tree species found in Albizia procera. The total
mean dry matter content, C density, and ­CO2eq of
NZP were 92.10  Mg  ­ha−1, 43.61  Mg-C ­ha−1, and
168.83  Mg  ­ha−1, respectively. The highest biomass,
C density, and ­ CO2eq obtained in the species of
Ficus benghalensis followed by Ficus racemosa and
Snehlata 
Department of Environmental Studies, Central University
of Haryana, Mahendergarh, Haryana 123031, India
A. Rajlaxmi · M. Kumar (*)  global level to understand the actual sink of the ter-
Environmental Science and Biomedical Metrology
Division, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi,
India
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
Azadirachta indica. The data indicates that the trees
having the capacity to store carbon are essential for
the maintenance of a sustainable environment. Thus,
the study suggests that there is a substantial scope to
increase the carbon density and C ­ O2eq in urban city
through adopting various management strategies viz.
afforestation and reforestation program on degraded
and abandoned land to maintain a clean and sustain-
able environment.
Keywords  Carbon sequestration · Dry matter
content · Green space · Tree biomass · Urban
vegetation
Introduction
Terrestrial carbon (C) sequestration by plants is a
crucial process responsible for depleting carbon diox-
ide ­(CO2) from the atmosphere. Furthermore, the C
sequestration study helps to know about the C bal-
ance of the particular area, and it also indicates the
differences in the air quality of forested and non-
forested regions. Moreover, forests and other vegeta-
tion can absorb C­ O2 emissions and mitigate climate
change; therefore, its relevant studies have attracted
worldwide attention. The estimations of C density
and sequestration rate are vital at the regional and
restrial ecosystem. The forested area or green belt can
capture more C from the atmosphere in comparison
Vol.:(0123456789)
13
 841   Page 2 of 13
to the less vegetated area; therefore, the green belt
maintains ecosystem balance vis-a-vis C ­O2 level
of the atmosphere. Furthermore, the captured ­CO2
accumulated in the form of plant biomass through
the photosynthetic process, which represents vegeta-
tion C stocks in the area. In this regard, the rate of
long-term C accumulation in the unit area and time is
known as C sequestration rate. Moreover, vegetations
of the particular ecosystem contribute to soils in the
form of litter, which is deposited as soil organic car-
bon after the decomposition process. The amount of
total C stocks indicates the health of the ecosystem,
i.e., high value represents more vegetation in the spe-
cific area. Nowadays, C management is a serious con-
cern for the environment due to the increasing human
population and climate change; both are resulting in
land degradation, desertification, and drought in the
ecosystems (Huang et al., 2012, 2016). From the pre-
industrial era, the ­CO2 level of the atmosphere has
been increased from 280 to 408 ppm owing to various
anthropogenic activities such as the burning of fos-
sil fuels, land use–land cover change, and clearing of
forests at a large scale (Bargali et  al., 2018; Himani
et al., 2017; Kittur et al., 2014). Moreover, degrada-
tion and deforestation of natural forests reduced the
tree density and diversity, which leads to depletion
of carbon stock and sink potential of the ecosystem
(Keeling et al., 1996).
Urban vegetation viz. national parks, botani-
cal gardens, street trees, institutional avenues trees
and hedges, etc. play a vital role or maybe the only
available tool in abatement of air pollution through
sequestration of carbon in the form of biomass and
soil organic carbon. Furthermore, the different veg-
etation types viz. trees, shrubs, and herbs also ame-
liorate the air quality, slow down the storm, provide
shade, reduce noise pollution, and maintain the micro-
climate of the area (Amoatey & Sulaiman, 2019).
Additionally, green space also provides an aesthetic
view along with the physical and mental well-being
of urban dwellers (Gratani et  al., 2016). Only 3% of
the global terrestrial area is occupied by urban and
more than 50% of the world’s population currently
resides in these areas, which will increase to 68% by
2050 (Brown, 2002; UN, 2018). This increasing urban
population will shape the metropolitan area into a
fragmented landscape with disturbed biodiversity.
Presently, urban ecosystems are stressed with mainly
double challenges due to increasing urbanization,
13
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Environ Monit Assess (2021) 193:841
leading to the felling of trees and augmentation of
air pollution load. Therefore, the estimation of vari-
ous sources and sinks of urban pollutions is urgently
needed. In metropolitan cities, the condition of ambi-
ent air quality has declined drastically as an effect of
vehicular pollution and other anthropogenic activities,
including contributions from various small- and large-
scale industries. India has contributed 7.1% of global
greenhouse gas emission and 6.8% of ­CO2 emission
(Olivier et  al., 2017). Moreover, the level of green-
house gases (GHGs) like C ­ O2, methane, nitrous oxide,
and ozone increases with increasing anthropogenic
activities. ­CO2 equivalent is used for describing the
amount of any GHG in the same amount of C ­ O2 based
on their global warming potential. It is usually writ-
ten as ­CO2e, ­CO2eq, or CDE. It is usually believed
that ­CO2eq is easy to use for policymakers. It also
includes the radiative effects and warming effects of
all the Kyoto gas or greenhouse gas emissions to the
atmosphere (Calvin et al., 2009). It can be calculated
by using simple expressions by IPCC (2001).
The study of ­CO2eq helps to understand the com-
mon array and weight of the pollutants in a specific
country; the future climatic impact of emission con-
tributes to all GHGs in increasing C ­ O2eq. In addi-
tion to that, it shows the progress of GHGs over the
past century clearly. Globally, forests store 289 Gt
C, which is 1060 Gt ­CO2eq (FAO, 2010). However,
Olupot et al. (2017) have measured the carbon stock
­CO2eq in Kibale National Park of Uganda, which
increases 56.8% in the last decade and the effect of
land use and land cover change on C ­ O2eq flux. In
contrast, the green space and open areas of urban eco-
systems are shrinking due to the increasing demands
of additional residential and commercial buildings in
all categories of cities. Nowadays, the study related
to urban forestry and greenery has attracted the atten-
tion of researchers of the world due to urgent need
regarding the rapid increase of urbanizations and its
associated issues. Hence, Gratani et  al. (2016) esti-
mated C sequestration rate of urban parks of Rome
and concluded that four parks sequestered C equiva-
lent to 3.6% of the total greenhouse gas emission of
the country, which has an annual economic value of
$ 23,537 ­ha−1.
Carbon pools of different forest ecosystems are
potently influenced by topography, temperature, rain-
fall (Vayreda et  al., 2012), tree species composition
(Hu et al., 2015), forest type and structure (Wei et al.,
Environ Monit Assess (2021) 193:841 Page 3 of 13  841
2013), species diversity (Arasa-Gisbert et  al., 2018),
land use–land cover pattern, human disturbances
(Canadell et  al., 2007), and management practices
of forest area (Lal, 1999). Delhi (including national
capital territory NCT) is one of the most polluted
metropolitan cities of the world due to its geographi-
cal location and other anthropogenic activities, e.g.,
heavy vehicular and construction activities.
Some studies related to the estimation of biomass
and carbon stock for the forested and green area of
Delhi are available (see Mohan, 2000; Goel & Singh,
2006; Tripathi & Joshi, 2015; Tomar & Baishya,
2020; Meena et al., 2019). The forest cover of Delhi
is only 195.4 sq. km (13.2% of the total geographical
area) out of which 136.4 sq. km (57.9%) is an urban
forest, playing a vital role in mitigating pollutant lev-
els of Delhi/National Capital Region (NCR) (ISFR,
2019). Furthermore, NCT has more than 18,000
parks and gardens which spread over about 8000  ha
(Tripathi & Joshi, 2015). Furthermore, it has a stretch
of 32 km of notified ridge forest, which is the exten-
sion of the Aravalli hills. These green belts act as a
lung of the city, continuously sequestering C ­ O2 and
other pollutants and supplying pure oxygen to breathe
to the urban dwellers. Therefore, the actual quantifi-
cation of C storage of different parks and gardens of
the city would help policymakers understand the sink
and source ratio carbon in urban ecosystems. The
present study aims to quantify the component-wise
dry matter content, C density, and ­CO2eq of different
tree species at the National Zoological Park of Delhi
to know the actual C sink of the park. This study
hypothesizes that urban parks would increase the C
density and withhold an even larger amount of C ­ O2eq
from the earth’s atmosphere.
Materials and methods
Study area
National Zoological Park (NZP) of Delhi, India, is
located at latitude 28° 12́N to 28° 53′ N and longi-
tude of 76° 50′ E to 77° 23′ E. The geologic develop-
ment of Delhi is considered because of the uplifting
of the tectonic plate during the Pleistocene period.
The Aravalli range hills and Yamuna River is the
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
two distinctive feature of the Delhi region. The soil
type of study area is considered to be varied from
sandy to clay loam, and the estimated pH of soils is
7.5–8.2 (Chibbar, 1985; Singh & Kumar, 2006). The
park is located between two historical monuments,
Humayun’s Tomb and Purana Quila, near the India
Gate on Mathura road. NZP covers an area of 188.62
acres. The forest type of Delhi’s region is a thorny
tropical forest of a semi-arid climate (Champion &
Seth, 1968).
Tropical, semi-arid, and hot is the dominating
climate of the Delhi area. Southwest winds trave-
ling from the Arabian Sea is the major cause of
rainfall in Delhi (Bhattacharya et  al., 1985). The
average precipitation is about 798 mm annually, and
in the monsoon season, the relative humidity var-
ies from 39 to 66% (IMD, 2021). The hottest month
of this region is considered the month of June, and
the month of December to February is the coldest.
Delhi region has an average annual maximum and
minimum temperature of 31.4 °C and 19 °C, respec-
tively (IMD, 2021).
Field survey
The field survey was conducted between Janu-
ary and March 2020. The square plot size was set
as 400 m ­ 2 (20  m × 20  m). Three sites (viz. site 1,
site 2, and site 3) were randomly selected to cover
maximum tree species and reduce bias caused by
within-site differences. Hence, a total of nine plots
were studied. At each site, the total number of an
individual tree (saplings and adults) was counted for
each plot. In the present study, the contribution of
carbon storage from shrub and herb was not taken
due to some restriction of destructive sampling in
the national park. However, shrubs and herbs con-
tributed small amounts in total C storage (Davies
et  al., 2011). The circumference at breast height
(CBH) of each tree was measured through the help
of measuring tape at 1.37 m above the ground level.
The height (H) was measured with a height rang-
ing clinometers of Bosch GLM 80. The plants hav-
ing a diameter ≥ 10 cm were considered adult trees,
and the sapling trees were considered in the range
of diameter ≥ 1 and ≤ 10 cm. The diameter at breast
height (DBH) of plants was obtained by dividing
13
 841   Page 4 of 13 Environ Monit Assess (2021) 193:841

the CBH to the value 3.14. To get the aboveground Table 2  Wood density (g/cm3) of plants (source: adopted from
biomass (AGB) of plants (DBH ≥ 5 cm), commonly Reyes (1992)
used biomass estimation equation was used speci- S. no Species name Wood density
fied by Chave et al. (2005) in Eq. 1.
1 Ficus sp. 0.39
At the first site, dominant tree species was Ficus
2 Mimusops sp. 0.72
sp., Azadirachta indica, and Pongamia pinnata
3 Bauhina s. 0.67
across sites. The second site was dominated by Albi-
4 Emblica officinalis 0.8
zia procera and Albizia lebbeck tree species across
5 Cassia fistula 0.71
sites. The third site was dominated by A. procera,
6 Albizia procera 0.52
Holoptelea integrifolia, A. indica, and Ficus elas-
7 Albizia lebbeck 0.55
tica. Furthermore, this site consists of more sapling
8 Azadirachta indica 0.69
species among the sites, predominantly A. procera
9 Tectona grandis 0.5
species. Some individual species-specific equation
10 Cordia sp. 0.53
for some trees was used, as shown in Table  1. Val-
11 Terminalia bellirica 0.72
ues used as wood density for different species are
mentioned in Table 2, whereas for some species, the
common value (0.65  g/cm3) was used (Chave et  al.,
2009). Belowground biomass (BGB) was calculated by
�
using root shoot ratio, 0.24 specified for tropical for-
AGB = exp(−2.187 + 0.916∗ 1n(𝜌D∧ 2H) (1) ests given by Cairns et al. (1997).

where AGB (kg); D = diameter (cm); ῥ = wood den-
sity (g/cm3); H = height (m).
For juvenile plants to estimate the AGB for
(DBH ≥ 3  cm to ≤ 10  cm), the equation specified by
Brown et al. (1989) is used.
AGB = exp −2.4090 + 0.9522 ∗ In D2 H S
[ ( )]
where S = wood density (g/cm3); AGB (kg); D = diam-
eter (cm); H = height (m).
AGB estimation for (DBH ≤ 3 cm) was calculated
by the equation given by Chaturvedi et al. (2012)
AGB (kg) = 3.344 + 0.443∗ 1n DBH∧ 2
( )
where DBH = diameter (cm).
BGB(kg) = AGB × 0.24 (4)
The aggregate of AGB and BGB calculated total
biomass density (TBD). The aboveground carbon
(AGC) and belowground carbon (BGC) content were
estimated by multiplying with a factor C content per-
(2) centage 47.35 of AGB and BGB, respectively (Martin
& Thomas, 2011). The aggregation of AGC and BGC
obtained total carbon density (TCD).
Carbon = Biomass × Carbon (%) (5)
CO2 eq was estimated by using factor 1/2 for
obtaining amounts of C content from biomass
(3)
(Nowak & Crane, 2002) and 44/12 for obtaining
­CO2eq from carbon (Stoffberg et al., 2010).

Table 1  Species-specific AGB equation used for tree species

Sr. no Species name Allometric equations References

1 Pongamia pinnata Biomass = 2.031 + 0.105*(DBH)*(H) Toky et al. (2011)

2 Azadirachta indica
3 Dalbergia sissoo
4 Bauhinia variegata
5 Albizia lebbeck
Biomass = (1.409) + (1.382*((DBH)^(2)))-(1.219*(DBH)*(H)) Kumar and Tewari (1999)
Stem + leaves biomass = (1.9716) + 0.2583*(DBH) Lodhiyal and Lodhiyal (2003)
Branches biomass = (4.7404) + 0.6164*(DBH)
Biomass = − 1.182 + 2.956*dbh + 0.18*DBH^2 Sharma (2019)
Stem Singh et al. (2004)
ln Biomass = 0.594 + 0.867*ln((DBH)^(2)*(H))
Foliage ln biomass = 0.038 + 0.768*ln(DBH)^(2)*(H))

13
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Environ Monit Assess (2021) 193:841 Page 5 of 13  841

Table 3  Mean density (no. of individual ­ha−1), diameter at

CO2 eq. = 1∕2 × Bm × 44∕12 × 1∕1000 (6) breast height (DBH, cm) of adult tree species at National Zoo-
logical Park, Delhi
Bm = biomass; 1/1000 = factor for converting ­CO2
equivalent from kg to ton. Sl. no Name of species Density Mean Mean
DBH height

1 Pongamia pinnata 100 38.94 6.8

Results 2 Azadirachta indica 100 44.24 8.56
3 Syzigum cumini 25 37.42 6.58
Forest structure 4 Dalbergia sissoo 25 57.32 7.82
5 Ficus benghalensis 150 63.58 5.7
A total of 188 individual trees belonging to 25 species 6 Ficus religiosa 50 72.13 9.71
were recorded and sampled at three different sam- 7 Bauhinia variegata 75 26.22 5.44
pling sites of NZP. A. procera was the dominant spe- 8 Albizia procera 625 16.75 7.11
cies among the sampling sites, followed by A. lebbeck 9 Albizia lebbeck 200 24.53 6.7
and A. indica. The density of adult and sapling tree 10 Prosopis juliflora 50 22.39 8.31
species ranged from 25 to 625 and 25 to 2000 indi- 11 Celtis tetrandra 25 10.96 3.8
vidual ­ha−1, respectively. The mean DBH and H for 12 Millettia peguensis 25 12.80 4.3
adult tree species were varied from 11.0 to 72.1  cm 13 Morus australis 25 13.69 4.79
and 3.8 to 9.7 m, respectively (Table 3). 14 Cordia dichotoma 50 13.9 6.12
The mean DBH and H of sapling tree species 15 Ficus racemosa 50 77.07 9.46
were recorded in the range of 1.8 to 9.2 cm and 0.76 16 callistemon viminalis 25 18.15 6.57
to 6.4 m, respectively (Table 4). However, details of 17 Ficus elastica 25 11.02 6.58
individual adult and sapling tree species, i.e., density
(individual ­ha−1), DBH, and H, are given in Tables 3
and 4, respectively. Furthermore, the highest DBH for adult tree species were obtained greatest at site
was contributed by Ficus sp.in the range of 11.0 to 1 (94.4  Mg  ­ha−1, 44.7  Mg-C ­ha−1, 173.1  Mg  ­ha−1,
154.1  cm. The maximum density of adult tree spe- respectively) and lowest at site 2 (81.5  Mg  ­ha−1,
cies was A. procera (625 individual ­ha−1) followed by 38.6  Mg-C ­ha−1, 149.4  Mg  ­ha−1). The TBD of
A. lebbeck (200 individual ­ha−1) across the sites. For sapling species was estimated across the sites was
sapling trees, maximum density was observed for A. 3.1 Mg  ­ha−1, the TCD was 1.5 Mg-C ­ha−1, and the
procera (2000 individual h­ a−1). total ­CO2eq was estimated at 5.6  Mg  ­ ha−1. The
AGB of sapling tree species across the sites was
Dry matter content, carbon density, and ­CO2eq ranged from 0.5 to 4.2  Mg  ­ha−1 with an average
estimation of trees value of 2.5 Mg ­ha−1, and BGB was estimated in the
range of 0.1 to 1.0  Mg  ­ha−1 with an average value
The AGB of adult tree species across the plots were of 0.59 Mg  ­ha−1. The AGC was ranged in between
ranged from 65.7 to 76.1  Mg  ­ha−1 with an average 0.2 and 1.9  Mg-C ­ha−1 with an average value of
value of 71.8 Mg ­ha−1. The BGB of adult tree spe- 1.2 Mg-C ­ha−1, and BGC was estimated in the range
cies was present in the range of 15.8 to 18.3 Mg ­ha−1 of 0.05 to 0.5  Mg-C ­ha−1 with an average value of
with an average value of 17.2  Mg  ­ ha−1. The 0.3 Mg-C ­ha−1. The total C­ O2eq across the sites was
mean AGC and BGC of adult tree species were measured in the range of 1.1 to 9.6 Mg ­ha−1with the
33.9  Mg-C ­ha−1 and 8.2  Mg-C ­ha−1, respectively. mean value of 5.6 Mg ­ha−1.
The TBD (Mg h­ a−1), TCD (Mg-C h­ a−1), and total The component-wise dry matter content (i.e.,
­CO2eq (Mg h­ a−1) values for AGB and BGB of both AGB and BGB), C density (i.e., AGC and BGC),
adult and sapling species are shown in Fig.  1. The and total C ­ O2eq of adult tree species were esti-
mean TBD of adult tree species was 89.0 Mg ­ha−1. mated (Table 5). The highest TBD, TCD, and C ­ O2eq
The mean TCD and ­CO2eq  across the sites were among adult trees were obtained for F. benghalensis
estimated 42.2  Mg-C ­ ha−1and 163.2  Mg  ­ha−1, (97.9  Mg  ­ha−1, 46.3  Mg-C h­a−1, 179.6  Mg  ­ha−1,
respectively. The mean TBD, TCD, and total ­CO2eq respectively) followed by F. racemosa (96.5 Mg ­ha−1,

13
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 841   Page 6 of 13 Environ Monit Assess (2021) 193:841

Table 4  Mean density S. no Name of species Density Mean DBH Mean height

(no. of individual ­ha−1),
diameter at breast height 1 Ficus racemosa 25 6.05 3.17
(DBH, cm), and height
2 Mimusops elengi 25 3.18 2.23
(m) of sapling species at
National Zoological Park, 3 Holoptelea integrifolia 150 3.32 2.73
Delhi 4 Ficus religiosa 50 4.65 3.04
5 Bauhina purpurea 50 2.87 3.06
6 Ficus benghalensis 25 1.82 0.76
7 Emblica officinalis 25 2.04 1.85
8 Cassia fistula 75 5.48 3.21
9 Albizia procera 2000 6.51 5.17
10 Albizia lebbeck 25 9.14 6.37
11 Azadirachta indica 225 3.43 3.29
12 Celtis tetrandra 50 8. 06 4.16
13 Bauhinia variegata 25 7.64 5.49
14 Tectona grandis 25 7.55 5.03
15 Haplophragma adenophyllum 50 3.60 2.62
16 Pongamia pinnata 25 9.24 2.62
17 Dalbergia sissoo 25 7.01 3.99
18 Ficus elastica 150 3.80 3.87
19 Morus australis 75 4.54 3.93
20 Cordia dichotoma 25 2.39 3.47
21 Terminalia bellirica 25 8.89 4.79

45.7  Mg-C ­ha−1, 177.1  Mg  ­ha−1, respectively) respectively). Among the adult tree species, TBD,
and then A. indica (70.2  Mg  ­ha−1, 33.2  Mg-C TCD, and total C­ O2eq were obtained lower for Celtis
­ha−1, 128.6 M­ gha−1, respectively) and F. religiosa tetrandra 0.6  Mg  ­ha−1, 0.3  Mg-C h­a−1, and 1.1
(47.5  Mg  ­ha−1, 22.5  Mg-C h­a−1, 87.1  Mg  ­ha−1, ­Mgha−1, respectively. The remaining individual adult

Fig. 1  Mean value of total 160

biomass density (TBD),
total carbon (TCD), and 140 Aboveground
­CO2 equivalent (­ CO2eq) Belowground
value for aboveground and 120
belowground at National
100
Zoological Park (NZP),
Delhi. Negative values indi- 80
cate the belowground part
and narrow bars represent
Mg ha-1

60
standard error
40

20

-20

-40

-60
Biomass Carbon CO2eq.

13
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Environ Monit Assess (2021) 193:841 Page 7 of 13  841

Table 5  Species-wise dry S. No Name of Species AGB BGB TBD AGC​ BGC TCD Total CO2eq
matter content (Mg ­ha−1),
carbon density (Mg-C 1 Pongamia pinnata 1.60 0.38 1.98 0.76 0.18 0.94 3.63
­ha−1), and ­CO2eq (Mg
2 Azadirachta indica 56.61 13.59 70.20 26.81 6.43 33.24 128.69
­ha−1) of adult tree species
at National Zoological Park 3 Syzigum cumini 7.52 1.81 9.33 3.56 0.86 4.42 17.10
(NZP). [AGB dry matter 4 Dalbergia sissoo 0.54 0.130 0.67 0.26 0.06 0.32 1.22
content of aboveground 5 Ficus benghalensis 79.00 18.96 97.96 37.41 8.98 46.39 179.60
biomass; BGB dry matter
6 Ficus religiosa 38.28 9.19 47.46 18.12 4.35 22.47 87.02
content of belowground
biomass; TBD total biomass 7 Bauhinia variegata 5.96 1.43 7.39 2.82 0.68 3.50 13.55
density; AGC​aboveground 8 Albizia procera 15.03 3.61 18.64 7.12 1.71 8.83 34.18
biomass carbon; BGC 9 Albizia lebbeck 0.85 0.20 1.06 0.40 0.10 0.50 1.93
belowground biomass
10 Prosopis juliflora 7.42 1.78 9.20 3.51 0.84 4.36 16.86
carbon; TCD total carbon
density] 11 Celtis tetrandra 0.48 0.12 0.60 0.23 0.06 0.28 1.09
12 Millettia peguensis 0.71 0.17 0.89 0.34 0.08 0.42 1.62
13 Morus australis 0.89 0.21 1.11 0.42 0.10 0.52 2.03
14 Cordia dichotoma 2.27 0.55 2.82 1.08 0.26 1.34 5.17
15 Ficus racemosa 77.89 18.69 96.58 36.88 8.85 45.73 177.06
16 callistemon viminalis 2–00 0.45 2.48 0.95 0.23 1.17 4.54
17 Ficus elastica 0.81 0.19 0.99 0.38 0.09 0.47 1.82

tree species contained biomass in the range between
0.7 and 18.6 Mg ­ha−1, C density in the range of 0.3
to 8.8 Mg-C ­ha−1, and ­CO2eq of remained adult tree
species lies between 1.1 and 34.2  Mg  ­ha−1. Among
the obtained data of sapling tree species, TBD, TCD,
and ­CO2eq of A. procera (3  Mg  ­ha−1, 1.4  Mg-C
­ha−1, 5.4  Mg  ­ha−1, respectively) were the highest,
and the lowest values were observed for Mimusops
elengi (0.1  Mg  ­ha−1, 0.05  Mg-C ­ha1, 0.2  Mg  ­ha−1
respectively).
Similarly, the component-wise dry matter content,
C density, and total C ­ O2eq of sapling species were
estimated and the mean value of each parameter are
provided in Table  6. The TBD and TCD of individ-
ual sapling tree species were ranged between 0.1 and
2.9 Mg ­ha−1, and 0.05 and 1.4 Mg-C ­ha−1, respectively.
The total C
­ O2eq of remained sapling tree species was
varied between 0.2 and 1.1 Mg ­ha−1 across the sites.
Total tree biomass, carbon density, and ­CO2
equivalent at NZP
The TBD at different sites ranges varied from 85
to 96.4  Mg  ­ha−1. The mean TBD estimated at NZP
was 92.1 Mg ­ha−1. Furthermore, the TCD value was
observed highest (45.6 Mg-C h­ a−1) for S3 while low-
est at S2 (40.2 Mg-C ­ha−1) across the sites. The mean
TCD estimated at NZP was 43.6 Mg-C ­ha−1. Across
the sites, the mean ­CO2eq was 168.8 Mg ­ha−1CO2eq
with the greatest value 176.6  Mg  ­ha−1 at site 3 and
the lowest value of 155.7 Mg ­ha−1 at site 2 (Fig. 2).
Discussion
The present investigation helps in further study to
know about the amount of oxygen releases in the
environment on the basis of atomic number, differ-
ent cities comprises different oxygen levels based on
their population consumption, abundance of healthy
trees, diameter ranges, and growth rate (Nowak et al.,
2007). In the present study, tree density was found
lower than the reported value of Pesola et al. (2017)
for the area at Parco Nord Milano, Milan, Italy; the
value ranged from 240 to 740 individual ­ha−1. Fur-
thermore, tree density values of this study correspond
to the value of semi-arid tropical forests of Delhi
(633 individual h­ a−1) (Meena et al., 2019). The diam-
eter range of the present study may be compared to
the reported value of Tripathi (2016), which ranged
from 12.4 to 97.7  cm, higher than the current value
of adult tree species at Delhi/NCR. For tree spe-
cies, the distribution of diameter class is helpful to
know about the tree population structure of differ-
ent ranges. The variation in the tree diameter range
of different forest region majorly depends on growth

13
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 841   Page 8 of 13 Environ Monit Assess (2021) 193:841

Table 6  Species-wise dry S. no Species name AGB BGB TBD AGC​ BGC TCD Total CO2eq
matter content (Mg ­ha−1),
carbon density (Mg-C 1 Ficus racemosa 0.155 0.037 0.192 0.073 0.018 0.091 0.353
­ha−1), and ­CO2eq (Mg h­ a−1)
2 Mimusops elengi 0.077 0.018 0.095 0.036 0.009 0.045 0.175
of sapling tree species at
National Zoological Park 3 Holoptelea integrifolia 0.295 0.071 0.366 0.140 0.034 0.173 0.672
(NZP). [AGB dry matter 4 Ficus religiosa 0.113 0.027 0.140 0.054 0.013 0.066 0.257
content of aboveground 5 Bauhina purpures 0.107 0.026 0.133 0.051 0.012 0.063 0.243
biomass; BGB dry matter
6 Ficus benghalensis 0.097 0.023 0.120 0.046 0.011 0.057 0.22
content of belowground
biomass; TBD total biomass 7 Emblica officinalis 0.099 0.024 0.123 0.047 0.011 0.058 0.226
density; AGC​aboveground 8 Cassia fistula 0.257 0.062 0.319 0.122 0.029 0.151 0.584
biomass carbon; BGC 9 Albizia procera 2.395 0.575 2.970 1.134 0.272 1.406 5.445
belowground biomass
10 Albizia lebbeck 0.502 0.120 0.622 0.238 0.057 0.295 1.14
carbon; TCD total carbon
density] 11 Azadirachta indica 0.332 0.080 0.412 0.157 0.038 0.195 0.755
12 Celtis tetrandra 0.653 0.157 0.810 0.309 0.074 0.384 1.485
13 Bauhinia variegata 0.374 0.090 0.464 0.177 0.042 0.219 0.85
14 Tectona grandis 0.254 0.061 0.315 0.120 0.029 0.149 0.577
15 Haplophragma adenophyllum 0.081 0.020 0.101 0.039 0.009 0.048 0.185
16 Pongamia pinnata 0.239 0.057 0.296 0.113 0.027 0.140 0.542
17 Dalbergia sissoo 0.210 0.051 0.261 0.100 0.024 0.124 0.478
18 Ficus elastica 0.159 0.038 0.197 0.075 0.018 0.093 0.36
19 Morus australis 0.258 0.062 0.321 0.122 0.029 0.152 0.588
20 Cordia dichotoma 0.103 0.025 0.128 0.049 0.012 0.060 0.234
21 Terminalia bellirica 0.468 0.112 0.580 0.221 0.053 0.275 1.063

patterns, species composition, and age of trees (Joshi species succession’s chronosequence, which leads to
& Dhyani,  2019). Furthermore, they also mentioned variations in tree diameter range. Across the sampling
that the physical environmental factors influence area, the height of trees was found corresponding to

200

180

160

140

120
-1
Mg ha

100

80

60

40

20

0
Biomass Carbon CO2 eq.

Fig. 2  Mean value of total biomass density (TBD), total carbon (TCD), and C
­ O2 equivalent (­CO2eq) of National Zoological Park
(NZP), Delhi. Narrow bars represent standard error

13
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Environ Monit Assess (2021) 193:841 Page 9 of 13  841
the range of 7.1–10.3 m reported for Bogotá, Colom-
bia region (Escobedo et  al., 2015). The total bio-
mass (adult + sapling trees) of NZP was estimated
lower than the value, 218.8  Mg  ­ha−1, reported by
Rahmawaty and Rauf (2017) for the Taman Beringin
Urban Forest, Indonesia. The average TBD of the
present study was corresponding to the average value
(90.5  Mg  ­ha−1), for the tropical semi-arid forest,
Delhi (Meena et  al., 2019). According to our study,
the TCD value of NZP is two times higher than the
value of London Borough, Camden and tropical semi-
arid forest, Delhi (Meena et  al., 2019; Wilkes et  al.,
2018), respectively. Our value is also lower than the
value reported by Nowak and Crane (2002) in USA
of 700 million tonnes. For the densely populated cit-
ies, urban green spaces act as a biodiversity hotspot
(Sumangala, 2013) as they act as a survivor for the
city. Every person should have the responsibilities to
glorify their surroundings for maintaining balance in
nature.
Our total (adult + sapling trees) estimates of ­CO2eq
value were lower than the value 11,100  Mg  ­ ha−1
reported in Muscat, Oman, by Amoatey and Sulaiman
(2019). Urban trees help in reducing the pollution
level by directly capturing the pollutants and wash
them out directly into the ground during rain (Brack,
2002). Selections of trees species are the most cru-
cial part of planning urban greening and increase
the C density and sequestration rate (Churkina et al.,
2015). The planning, designing, understanding, and
maintenance of green spaces is vital for urban devel-
opment vis-a-vis C sequestration; it was also empha-
sized by Mhatre (2008). Planning of developing
urban green spaces should consider planting high bio-
mass trees for enhancing absorption of ­CO2 directly
in urban trees (Yao et  al., 2015). The total (above-
ground + belowground) ­CO2eq of the present study
was observed much lower than the reported value
(1893.1 Mg ­ha−1 and 214.4 Mg ­ha−1, respectively) of
Muscat, Oman, because of the higher density of trees,
species composition, and difference in management
policies (Amoatey & Sulaiman, 2019).
The AGB (adult + sapling trees) of NZP was
found higher than the value 26.9 Mg ­ha−1, reported
by Giannico et al. (2016); the major difference may
be due to the approaching of LiDAR technique for
the sampling of trees and tree species composition.
The AGC value in the present study was found three
times higher than the value (11 Mg-C ­ha−1) reported
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
by Strohbach and Haase (2012) at Leipzig, Ger-
many; it may be due to difference in species com-
position, structure, and tree canopy which leads to
the variation in the values. The BGC of the present
study was found lower than the reported values of
North Ridge Forest (15.5  Mg-C ­ha−1) and Central
Ridge Forest (11.5  Mg-C h­a−1) of Delhi (Meena
et  al., 2019). All these differences in the reported
and present values might be due to the dominance
of different tree species, population density, and tree
ages.
The total degraded area in Delhi was estimated
as 28  ha due to water erosion reported by Maji
et al. (2010). This degraded area could convert into
green spaces to increase Delhi/NCR green space.
The metropolitan municipality, Tshwane of South
Africa follows strategies to replace or relocate dead
trees with new ones and ensure a high percentage
of tree density and frequency to maintain green
cover (Stoffberg et  al., 2010). Moreover, ­ CO2eq
is the parameter of the environmental-economic
analysis of a country. In 2019, the global GHG
emission rate after excluding land use change was
52.4 Gt ­CO2eq, and with the land use change, it is
57.4 Gt C ­ O2eq (Olivier et  al.,  2017). The global
increase in C­ O2 level was 0.9% in that year, and the
total greenhouse gas increase was 1.1%. In addi-
tion, India is the fourth-largest emitter of GHGs
globally, with a contribution of 7%, whereas in
our study site, ­CO2eq value is less than 2.94% of
the global value (Olivier et  al.,  2017). This shows
that the pollution level of Delhi needs our neces-
sary concern. In India, the average increase in ­CO2
emission per year is 5%. Excluding the land use
change, global key drivers of C ­ O2 emission are coal
combustion, oil combustion, natural gas combus-
tion, and cement clinker production (Olivier et al.,
2017). Furthermore, it also stated that mining, pro-
cessing, and transport of raw materials increase the
­CO2 emission as well as C ­ O2eq (Turner & Collins,
2013). Moreover, Olupot et al. (2017) have worked
on the effects of land use change in protected areas
on ­CO2eq. According to the report, an increased
plantation in Kibale National Park leads to seques-
tration of 18.1  Mg-CO2eq ­ha−1 only by the pine
plantation in the past 10  years, which is only
10.72% of the ­CO2eq value of NZP, Delhi. The dif-
ference in the values might be the result of types of
plantations; however, it also contrasts the theory of
13
 841   Page 10 of 13
Harmon et  al. (2013) and Wu et  al. (2017), which
indicates the effects of disturbance in Land cover
in Kibale National Park. Likewise, in Mt Elgon
National Park, land use change in various areas
causes 93.6 to 91.5% of ­CO2eq loss. In addition
to that, a shift in chlorofluoro carbon level leads
to 76.8% of ­CO2eq loss in Bwindi National Park.
So, it was confirmed that land use changes have a
significant impact on ­CO2eq (Olupot et  al., 2017).
However, according to Caravaggio et  al. (2019),
­CO2eq is used more as a policy tool than a scien-
tific tool. It only targets the policy as expressed in
the term of carbon dioxide. In addition to that, the
study has been done on register vehicles from 1995
to 2015 in European states to study the ­CO2eq and
it shows that emission of ­CO2eq was much higher
in diesel car than in the petrol car (Helmers et al.,
2019). Ragnauth et  al. (2015) also studied differ-
ent non-agricultural sectors like energy, waste, and
industrial sectors providing global analysis of non-
CO2 gas in terms of ­CO2eq as well as the marginal
abetment cost curve till 2030 which provides a new
direction for the policymakers regarding economic
modelling to combat climate change. However, the
main flaws of the ­CO2eq concept are as follows: it
works for only a certain class of pollutants and the
weight used for expression is not uniform for all
the countries. Moreover, the annual study of C ­ O2eq
and C density changes in a particular land cover
is also yet to be done, so that increase or decrease
of the value per year can be monitored. The pre-
sent study does not account for the biomass of soil
and litter, and further studies can be carried out
on it. Furthermore, this study does not account for
the dry matter content and C density of herbs and
seedlings. Therefore, the holistic account of carbon
density and ­CO2eq each component of the zoologi-
cal park i.e. including herbs and shrubs would pro-
vide actual quantification of carbon sink potential
of the National Zoological Park.
Conclusion
The NZP a tropical semi-arid forest at Delhi has
significant biomass and C density among the vari-
ous tropical forest regions. The quantification of the
C density of NZP would be vital to know the actual
carbon sink in Delhi. Furthermore, the present study
13
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Environ Monit Assess (2021) 193:841
would help decision-making related to environmen-
tal and ecological issues by the policymakers. It will
also lead to a path of study of ­CO2eq across differ-
ent parts of India. The study will also help further
research related to ­ CO2eq by using computational
models like PROMETHEE-OW, which will provide
data in a more scientific way instead of a policy tool.
At the regional level, the actual estimated value of
carbon density would be vital to validate the model
simulated values. The present study could be helpful
to forest managers for the development of conducive
strategies in sustainable management of the zoologi-
cal national parks for increasing carbon density and
­CO2eq. It would thus be a win–win situation for every
living being. Moreover, urban greenery also provides
biophysical and socio-economic benefits, including
aesthetic value and biodiversity improvement.
Acknowledgements  The authors sincerely acknowledge the
administrative persons of the National Zoological Park those
who were permitted and cooperate to perform this study. The
author A. Rajlaxmi gratefully also acknowledges the INSPIRE
(DST), India, for the JRF fellowship.
Data availability  All data generated or analyzed during this
study are included in this published article in form of tables
and figures. Moreover, the raw datasets generated during and/
or analyzed during the current study are available from the cor-
responding author on reasonable request.
Declarations 
Conflict of interest  The authors declare no competing inter-
ests.
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