Soil Carbon Storage in Mountain Grasslands of Kashmir, India

On account of their ecological, economical and cultural significance, grasslands are an important mark and a unique heritage in Jammu and Kashmir. However, the details of distribution of vast reserves of soil organic carbon (SOC) in these ecosystems are not well known because most of the previous investigations on these ecosystems have been devoted towards highlighting their importance as repositories of biodiversity. This is extremely limiting, considering that in the face of changing climate, this information is most valuable and central to any of our efforts to mitigate the ill effects of climate change. In this context, this article reports the results of measuring the stocks of SOC in mountain grasslands of Kashmir valley with an objective to highlight the status of Kashmir Himalayan grasslands as repositories of SOC.