Plantations may play an effective role in balancing the CO2 levels in atmosphere by capturing and storing the carbon in biomass and soil. There are few studies in north of Iran whit focusing on carbon sequestration in forested lands. Acer velutinum .Boiss, Alnus subcordata .L and Cupressus sempervirens. var. horizontalis are the most used species in lowland plantations in this region. We quantified survival rate, growth characteristics and above- and belowground biomass after 18 years of these species establishment in Chamestan region of Mazandaran province. Results showed that C. sempervirens had the lowest survival rate and growth compared to other studied species. Based on higher survival rate and rapid growth, A. subcordata may be the best option for lowland plantations in this region. Also our results indicated that biomass production and carbon storage was significantly higher in A. subcordata and A. velutinum plantations compared to C. sempervirens. The rate of biomass carbon storage was calculated around: 23.41, 21.47 and 11.27 (t/h/yr) for A. subcordata, A. velutinum and C. sempervirens respectively. These results showed that lowland plantations in this area can be very effective on reducing the negative consequences of global warming.
