Preliminary estimation of carbon stock in a logging concession with a forest management plan in East Cameroon

Abstract

Logging operations in Cameroon are based on the extraction of wood from natural forest. In this paper, we assessed the carbon stock (in a Forest Management Unit -FMU located in East Cameroon) from field inventory to post-felling operations up to sawmill and export terminals.Tree basal area and aboveground biomass were calculated based on trees inventoried in the annual allowable cut. We observed that from an exploitable tree potential of 0.696 trees ha -1 inventoried within a diameter range of 50-110 cm, 0.141 tree ha -1 i.e. 20% of the inventoried 1 A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t 2 trees were logged. In other words, out of 6.78 tC ha -1 inventoried, 1.84 tC ha -1 i.e. 27% was logged, 1.62 tC ha -1 arrived in the log yard and 1.3 tC ha-1 arrived in sawmill while 0.32 tC ha -1 reached the export terminal. In terms of damages caused on vegetation, 4.45% of the all Annual Allowance Cut were affected during logging activities, this represents almost 33188.07 Tons of carbon. These findings show that the implementation of RIL could reduce these losses throughout the logging steps and help propose process for the valuation of wood waste in forest and sawmill. In this context reducing emission from deforestation and degradation will be engaged with the right approach.

Les forêts du bassin du Congo : État des Forêts 2021

“…Ces techniques engendrent d'une part une réduction des déchets abandonnés en forêt, mais également une diminution des coûts d'exploitation à travers une planification de l'utilisation des engins et un meilleur dimensionnement des infrastructures Si des études ont été réalisées afin de préciser les coûts de la mise en oeuvre des mesures EFIR, très peu se sont focalisées sur l'Afrique centrale (Nitcheu Tchiade et al 2016). Toutefois, la continuité de la mise en oeuvre de l'EFIR par les sociétés ayant développé ces techniques, parfois en dehors de contraintes légales ou liées à la certification forestière, laisse à penser que ces techniques ont un impact financier nul ou positif.…”

Land degradation

“…While reducing deforestation and forest degradation may directly help to meet mitigation goals, SFM aimed at providing timber, fibre, biomass and non-timber resources can provide long-term livelihood for communities, reduce the risk of forest conversion to non-forest uses (settlement, crops, etc. ), and maintain land productivity, thus reducing the risks of land degradation (Putz et al 2012;Gideon Neba et al 2014;Sufo Kankeu et al 2016;Nitcheu Tchiadje et al 2016;Rossi et al 2017).…”

The Forests of the Congo Basin: State of the Forests 2021

“…These techniques lead to a reduction in waste left in the forest and to a reduction in operating costs thanks to better planning of machinery use and better sizing of infrastructures. While studies have been carried out to clarify the costs of implementing RIL measures, very few have focused on Central Africa (Nitcheu Tchiade et al 2016). But we do know that companies that have developed RIL techniques -sometimes outside of legal or forest-certification constraints -continue to implement them, suggesting that the financial impact of such techniques is either null or positive.…”