Effect of Forest Management on Carbon Stock of Tropical Moist Afromontane Forest

Abstract

Moist tropical forests have a significant role in provisioning and regulating ecosystem services. However, these forests are under threat of deforestation and forest degradation. In Ethiopia, the moist evergreen Afromontane forests have the potential for carbon storage and support a high diversity of plant species. However, it is under severe threat of deforestation and degradation.This investigation was conducted to obtain adequate information on the carbon stock potential of the moist Afromontane forest of southwestern Ethiopia. A comparison of carbon stock was conducted between disturbed and undisturbed forests. A systematic sampling design was applied for recording woody species and soil data. A total of 100 main plots of 400 m2 were laid to record trees and shrubs with a diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 5 cm. The soil data were collected from 1 m2 subplots established at the four corners and the center of each main plot. The DBH and height were measured to calculate the aboveground carbon of trees and shrubs with DBH ≥ 5 cm. A total of 68 tree and shrub species belonging to 59 genera and 33 families were recorded. The mean carbon stock density was 203.80 ± 12.38 t·ha–1 (aboveground carbon stock) and 40.76 ± 2.47 t·ha–1 (belowground carbon stock). The highest proportion of aboveground carbon (t·ha–1) (42.34%) was contributed by a few tree individuals with DBH > 70 cm. The soil organic carbon stock (SOCS) (t·ha–1) for the depth of 0–30 cm is ranging from 58.97 to 198.33 across plots; the mean is 117.16 ± 3.15. The carbon stored in the moist Afromontane forest indicates its huge potential for climate change mitigation. Therefore, for the enhancement of forest biodiversity and carbon sequestration effective conservation measure and sound management approach is essential.

Vegetation composition, diversity, stand structure and carbon stock of a dry evergreen montane forest of Lendikinya forest reserve in Tanzania

“…However, compared to other studies, the species richness of 79 was relatively higher despite the smaller sample plot size used in this study (0.071 ha). For instance, Masresha and Melkamu (2022) in Ethiopia reported 12 different values of species richness ranging from 36-78 tree species, Boz and Maryo (2020) from Ethiopia reported a total of 76 woody species representing 40 families in a dry semi-evergreen Afromontane forest from 64 (0.04 ha) sample plots, Daba et al (2022) from the moist Afromontane forest of southwestern Ethiopia recorded a total of 68 tree and shrub species and 33 families from 100 plots of 20m × 20m and Feroz et al (2016) reported 40 species (in 0.16 ha) in tropical wet evergreen forest in Bangladesh.…”

The effects of environmental variability and forest management on natural forest carbon stock in northwestern Ethiopia

“…In the study area, carbon stock increased by 41.4% from open, unmanaged forest to forest under area exclosures. There are numerous arguments that forest management interventions improve the carbon stock potential of forest ecosystems (Bazezew et al., 2015a , 2015b ; Daba et al., 2022 ; Jati, 2012 ; Noormets et al., 2014 ). Furthermore, forest under area exclosures improves carbon stock potentials when compared to open forest patches, and it has intermediate biomass and carbon stock potential when compared to open forests and reference church forests (Kassaye et al., 2022 ).…”

Woody species diversity, composition, structure and carbon storage of a dry evergreen montane forest of Essimingor Nature Forest Reserve in Tanzania

“…Forests contain most of the terrestrial biodiversity and are estimated to store about 289 Gt of biomass carbon (Apguaua et al 2015;FAO 2022). The terrestrial vegetation alone is estimated to store approximately 450-650 Gt of carbon (Daba et al 2022). Forests also support life of many living organisms on earth and are a source of livelihood for more than 1.4 billion people worldwide (Kendie et al 2021).…”

“…According to Karki et al (2017), deforestation prevention has been generally accepted as a promising mitigation strategy for mitigating climate change through carbon negotiation mechanisms like REDD+ (reduced emission from deforestation and forest degradation, plus forest conservation, sustainable forest management, and enhancement). REDD+ was devised under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to combat CO2 emissions (Houghton 2012;Daba et al 2022). However, for a participating country to benefit from the carbon credit market, a precise and verifiable estimate of carbon stock data from the major carbon pools is necessary (Corbera and Schroeder 2011;Daba et al 2022).…”

“…REDD+ was devised under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to combat CO2 emissions (Houghton 2012;Daba et al 2022). However, for a participating country to benefit from the carbon credit market, a precise and verifiable estimate of carbon stock data from the major carbon pools is necessary (Corbera and Schroeder 2011;Daba et al 2022). Understanding available carbon stocks in different forest ecosystems is also important for estimating potential carbon losses through deforestation and forest degradation (Mauya et al 2019;Manyanda et al 2019).…”