New Delhi, Dec 30 (IANS) There has been an increase of 5,188 sq kms in the total forest and tree cover of the country as compared to the assessment of 2017. Out of this, the increase in the forest cover has been observed as 3,976 sq km and that in tree cover is 1,212 sq km, the government said on Monday.

Under the current assessment the total carbon stock in countr''s forest is estimated 7,124.6 million tonnes and there an increase of 42.6 million tonnes in the carbon stock of country as compared to the last assessment of 2017, Union Minister for Environment and Forests Prakash Javadekar said.

The top three states showing increase in forest cover are Karnataka (1,025 sq km) followed by Andhra Pradesh (990 sq km) and Kerala (823 sq km).

Mangrove cover has been separately reported in the ISFR 2019 and the total mangrove cover in the country is 4,975 sq km. An increase of 54 sq km in mangrove cover has been observed as compared to the previous assessment of 2017. Top three states showing mangrove cover increase are Gujarat (37 sq km) followed by Maharashtra (16 sq km) and Odisha (8 sq km).

The extent of bamboo bearing area of the country has been estimated 16.00 million hectare. The total estimated green weight of bamboo culms is 278 million tonnes, showing an increase of 88 million tonnes as compared to ISFR 2017.