Monitoring the Carbon Dioxide Concentration at Different Land Use Patterns in Pantnagar (India) and Surroundings Misra A.K.1,*, Bharadwaj Venkatesh2, Rastogi Akanksha3 1Project Scientist-D, Monsoon Mission Directorate, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pashan, Pune, Maharashtra, India 2Retired Professor and Head, Department of Agrometeorology, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand 3Research Associate, National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi, India *Corresponding author email id: ashueinstein@gmail.com
Online published on 18 January, 2019. Abstract Ambient air carbon dioxide concentration was measured at various sampling sites representing different types of land use pattern at Pantnagar and surrounding areas which fall under the foothills of Himalayas. The primary reason to select this location for the study was to get a baseline CO2 concentration data for future climate change studies as this area has witnessed a rapid industrialisation in the recent decades. The selected sites represent different land use patterns including industrial, vehicular, livestock, residential and agricultural areas. Weekly air samples were collected during October 2008 to April 2009 at various sampling sites which were further analysed in the laboratory using a non-dispersive infra-red gas analyser (IRGA). Based on the observations recorded during the period of study, vehicular site (Rudrapur bus station) witnessed the highest CO2 concentration (381.61 ppm) followed by the industrial site (373.59 ppm). A minor difference in the CO2 concentration have been observed among livestock and residential sites for which, the average CO2 concentration were found to be 366.87 and 366.66 ppm, respectively. On diurnal basis, lowest CO2 concentration was observed in afternoon hours. Top Key Terms Carbon dioxide concentration, Ambient air, Infrared gas analyser, Diurnal variations, Land use patterns. Top |