Biomass and carbon allocation within the Atlantic humid rainforest of southern Cameroon: Useful information for the implementation of REDD+ in Congo basin countries
Paper Details
Biomass and carbon allocation within the Atlantic humid rainforest of southern Cameroon: Useful information for the implementation of REDD+ in Congo basin countries
Abstract
This study is an evaluation of carbon pools in the southern forest of Cameroon. It provides useful information for the implementation of REDD+, which requires reliable forest carbon data and monitoring systems to reduce forest loss. Data on diameter measurements and wood density for trees above 10 cm Dbh was collected within 65 randomly distributed plots across three sites with varying degrees of disturbance severity. A total of 200 subplots were set-up to estimate stem biomass and 100 quadrats to collect litter and soil corer for the estimation of root biomass. Results showed an estimated wood density of 0.63 ± 0.15 g.cm-3. High biomass and carbon values were observed in Campo (1170.63t/ha, 585.315tC/ha), as compared to Bidou (751.89 t/ha, 375.95 tC/ha) and Mangombe (571.34t/ha, 285.67tC/ha). There was a high biomass allocation ranging between 94.98% and 97.97% for standing trees. Conversely a low contribution of less than 7% was observed for small diameter trees (Dbh<20 cm), followed by fine roots (1.62 – 3.82%) and litter (0.34 – 0.94%). Variation in biomass can be explained by the level of disturbance, heterogeneity in the spatial distribution of forest types, absence of standardized sampling rate and allometric equations for the Congo basin forest. Due to the complexities involved in forest biomass inventories and the low contribution of small diameter trees to the total biomass, the study suggests that trees with Dbh < 20 cm can be neglected.
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JR. Ngueguim, EN. Ntabe, MC. Momo Solefack, JL. Betti (2024), Biomass and carbon allocation within the Atlantic humid rainforest of southern Cameroon: Useful information for the implementation of REDD+ in Congo basin countries; JBES, V24, N4, April, P16-29
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