The impact of land cover change on the carbon stock of moist afromontane forests in the Majang Forest Biosphere Reserve

Abstract

Backgorund Forest plays an important role in the global carbon cycle by sequestering carbon dioxide and thereby mitigating climate change. In this study, an attempt was made to investigate the effects of land use/land cover (LULC) change (1989–2017) on carbon stock and its economic values in tropical moist Afromontane forests of the Majang Forest Biosphere Reserve (MFBR), south-west Ethiopia. Systematic sampling was conducted to collect biomass and soil data from 140 plots in MFBR. The soil data were collected from grassland and farmland. InVEST modelling was employed to investigate the spatial and temporal distribution of carbon stocks. Global Voluntary Market Price (GVMP) and Tropical Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) analysis was performed to estimate economic values (EV) of carbon stock dynamics. Correlation and regression analyses were also employed to identify the relationship between environmental and anthropogenic impacts on carbon stocks. Results The results indicated that the above-ground carbon and soil organic carbon stocks were higher than the other remaining carbon pools in MFBR. The mean carbon stock (32.59 M tonne) in 2017 was lower than in 1989 (34.76 Mt) of MFBR. Similarly, the EV of carbon stock in 2017 was lower than in 1989. Elevation, slope, and harvesting index are important environmental and disturbance factors resulting in major differences in carbon stock among study sites in MFBR. Conclusions Therefore, the gradual reduction of carbon stocks in connection with LULC change calls for urgent attention to implement successful conservation and sustainable use of forest resources in biosphere reserves.

Aboveground Spatiotemporal Carbon Storage Model in the Changing Landscape of Jatigede, West Java, Indonesia

“…In the study area, a major conversion of forests to upland fields by 384.58 ha significantly depleted the aboveground carbon stocks in forests. Other studies have also revealed a decline in terrestrial carbon stocks due to LULC changes mainly attributed to the loss of vegetation cover [9,10,30,63]. The carbon storage and sequestration capacity decreased significantly over time as agricultural and urban land cover increased [64].…”

“…The InVEST carbon storage and sequestration model performs better when studying and evaluating how climate change and LULC change affect carbon storage [28,29]. The InVEST model provides spatially explicit data (using spatial data), resulting in spatial and statistical data in terms of tons of carbon sequestered [30]. Such a model is effective in evaluating carbon storage in the landscape using carbon pool and LULC change data [31].…”

Spatiotemporal Evolution and Prediction of Ecosystem Carbon Storage in the Yiluo River Basin Based on the PLUS-InVEST Model

“…Many scholars at home and abroad use the carbon storage plate in the InVEST model to predict carbon storage. For example, Tadese and Rajbanshi studied the relationship between land-use change and carbon storage in the Majang Forest Biosphere Reserve and the Konar catchment, India, respectively [11,12]. Xie [13], Wang [14], and Qing [15] estimated carbon storage and predicted different scenarios for the Huaihai Economic Zone, the Hubao and Yuyu urban agglomeration, and the Shihezi River Basin, respectively.…”