Floristic composition, species diversity and carbon storage in charcoal and agriculture fallows and management implications in Miombo woodlands of Zambia

Abstract

Globally, there are increasing demands for land use changes aimed at restoring Carbon (C) 5 and biodiversity in degraded forest ecosystems. This study provides an integrated 6 understanding of aboveground (AG) C storage, structural and floristic composition in 7 charcoal and agriculture fallows in Miombo woodland systems of Zambia. We present the 8 findings of ecological surveys; measuring tree diameters and assessing species composition 9 on twenty-four 0.25 ha plots in undisturbed woodlands, and fifty-eight plots re-growing after 10 agriculture (5-58 years) and charcoal production (5-44 years). Undisturbed Miombo stored 11 39.6 Mg C ha -1 AG, while after clearance, C stocks accumulated at 0.98 and 1.42 Mg C ha -1 12 yr -1 in agriculture and charcoal fallows respectively. There were no significant differences in 13 C stocks between woodlands and ≥ 20 year old fallows, implying that in terms of AG C 14 storage, woodlands sufficiently recover after 20 years. Stem densities were significantly 15 higher in charcoal than agriculture fallows but the difference decreased with fallow age.

Diversity and Structure of Miombo Woodlands in Mozambique Using a Range of Sampling Sizes

“…In Kitulanghalo Forest Reserve and Ihombwa village, Backéus et al [1] and Mbwambo et al [42] found 79 and 86 species, respectively, from Tanzania's Miombo woodland. The average tree density of 517 ± 85 trees/ha in Miombo woodland is comparable with those reported by Backéus et al [1], Campbell et al [2], Kalaba et al [4] and Chidumayo [5].…”

“…Miombo woodland is distinguished from other African savanna. In Miombo woodland, woodland and forest are formed by the dominance of tree species in the family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae, particularly in the genera Brachystegia, Julbernardia and Isoberlinia [3,4], while these genera are seldom found outside Miombo [5,6]. Miombo is regarded as a vegetation type that has been used by humans since the upper Pleistocene and maintained by man through a long history of cutting, cultivation and frequent dry season fires over the last 55,000 year [7].…”

Tree Species Diversity and Composition of Miombo Woodlands in South-Central Angola: A Chronosequence of Forest Recovery after Shifting Cultivation

“…Woody species composition was analyzed using the Importance Values Index (see (3)), which is the summation of the relative values of frequency, density, and dominance [43]. The Importance Values Index (IVI) describes the floristic structure and composition of the woodlands and has been frequently used in the Miombo systems [44][45][46].…”

Miombo Woodlands Research Towards the Sustainable Use of Ecosystem Services in Southern Africa

“…In general tree biodiversity has not been degraded by the slash-and-burn disturbance, but the time-scale of recovery of defining Miombo species was unclear. In Zambia [29][30][31] have also suggested that though Miombo systems recover relatively fast in terms of species diversity, species composition takes longer to recuperate. In another study in Mozambique, [32] observed that fire and herbivory by elephants are the main drivers of ecosystem structure and composition.…”