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. 2025 Sep 9;197(10):1099.
doi: 10.1007/s10661-025-14559-5.

Systematic evaluation of industrial greenbelts for quantifying carbon sequestration potential of afforestation activities

Nirav P Raval  1 , Aravind D  1 , A N Ramesh  2 , Himanshu Pandey  3 , Pradeep Kumar Ghosal  2 , Milind Rawal  2 , Mrugesh H Trivedi  4
Affiliations

Systematic evaluation of industrial greenbelts for quantifying carbon sequestration potential of afforestation activities

Nirav P Raval et al. Environ Monit Assess. .

Abstract

India's energy demand increased by 7.3% in 2023 compared to 2022 (5.6%), primarily met by coal-based thermal power plants (TPPs) that contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. In line with national climate goals set under the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for 2030, India mandates 33% green cover within TPPs for carbon (C) sequestration. This study assesses the C sequestration potential of greenbelts at Tata Coastal Gujarat Power Limited (CGPL) plant (465 ha) and its township (TS, 13.86 ha). The analysis integrates field-based allometric biomass estimation with CASA modeling, supported by remote sensing (RS) and GIS-based evaluation of NDVI and NDBI indices. While the TS exhibited higher species richness (28 families, 3,706 trees), the TPP (19 families, 363,467 trees) recorded higher sequestration values (CO2-equivalent: 52.52 Mg ha⁻1 vs. 2.13 Mg ha⁻1). Statistical modeling demonstrated that biomass accumulation was the strongest predictor of carbon storage (R2 = 1 for biomass-CO2eq) across both sites indicating that larger DBH and higher total biomass consistently resulted in greater CO2eq sequestration. NDVI-based analysis indicated a consistent increase in vegetation health over 2010-2023, while NDBI showed moderate expansion in built-up area. CASA estimates annual CO2 sequestration of ~8,745 Mg ha-1 for TPP and 1058 Mg ha-1 for the TS. This study provides a reference framework for afforestation-driven carbon mitigation by optimizing green areas within industrial landscapes, thereby contributing to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Keywords: Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach; Greenbelt; Greenhouse gases; Paris Agreement; Sustainable development goals; Thermal power plant.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethical approval: All authors have read, understood, and have complied as applicable with the statement on “Ethical responsibilities of Authors” as found in the Instructions for Authors. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Consent to participate: All the authors are aware and agree to participate in this manuscript. Consent for publication: All the authors agree to publish this manuscript.

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