In the global context of global warming, Cameroon's forests have a major role to play in mitigating climate change. The objectives of this study were to assess and spatialize carbon stocks in different types of land use/land cover types. To achieve these objectives, an approach based on the diachronic analysis of satellite images and the inventory of woody plants with a diameter greater than or equal to 10 cm in plots of 250 m x 20 m were carried out. The results show a 22.94% decrease in the area of mature forests and an 8.39% increase in the area of young forests in 2015. Results from field surveys show that carbon stocks vary from stratum to stratum and pool to pool. Stored carbon is higher in mature forests (133.52 tC/ha) and low in swamps (6.71 tC/ha). The aboveground compartment stores more carbon (224, 88 tC/ ha) followed by the belowground compartment (42.88 tC/ ha) and finally dead standing wood (2.59 tC/ ha). The mapping provided more account for the spatial variability of carbon stocks between land use/land cover types, providing arguments for fully meeting REDD+ targets.
This study was aimed at investigating and comparing the levels of five heavy metals; Pb, Cd, Cr, Zn, and Cu in both leaves, shoot and root samples of six common medicinal plants: Aloe vera, Ageratum conyzoides, Cleome ciliata, Cymbopogon citratus, Eremomastax speciosa, and Justicia secunda collected from refuse dumps, roadsides and residential areas in Douala. The plant samples collected were divided into different parts. Concentrations of heavy metals were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. Results revealed that the selected medicinal plants accumulate heavy metals at different concentrations. Heavy metals repartition decreased in the trend roots>shoots>leaves. There was a significant difference (p<0.0001) in the content of metals between plants from different collection points. Samples collected from refuse dumps showed significantly higher concentrations (p<0.0001) of heavy metals followed by roadsides, then residential areas. Comparison of results with defined permissible limits led to the conclusion that the levels of all five heavy metals were beyond the permissible limits in the majority of medicinal plants analyzed. Only Ageratum conyzoides was below the permissible limit for Cu. High heavy metal concentrations in plants indicate high level of contamination and this raises consumers' health risk concerns.
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