Aboveground forest carbon stock in protected area: A case study of Bukit Tigapuluh National Park, Indonesia

Abstract

Background : In present days, the role of protected areas has been extended to a climate change mitigation action, particularly in Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). Reliable and practical methods for measuring, reporting and verifying carbon stocks are a necessary component of REDD+. This study aims at recognizing the characteristic and estimating forest carbon stock in a tropical protected area using a combination of terrestrial forest inventory and spatial data. Results: In the study area of Bukit Tigapuluh National Park in Central Sumatra, 168 cluster plots or 33.6 hectares in total were taken proportionally based on the percentage of forest cover types (dryland primary forest/DPF and dryland secondary forest/DSF) using a traditional forest inventory method (tree up from 5 cm dbh) in combination with the application of information technology. Result revealed that Bukit Tigapuluh National Park secured a significant forest carbon stock which has been estimated to be 269.2 + 22.2 tC/ha or 35,823,639 + 2,951,071 tC in total, being sequestered in approximately 133,051 hectares of tropical rain forest. This result was higher than other studies located in non-protected areas, but slightly lower than other studies within protected area. Conclusion: This finding supported the argument that protected areas possess higher figure of carbon stock compared to other forest management units. High amount of forest carbon biomass in the protected areas shall be very important assets for conducting the role of conservation for REDD+.