Abstract
Forests play an important role in the global carbon (C) balance, but their biomass has decreased globally mainly because of deforestation and a reduction in forest cover. However, little is known about the C stock of tree biomass related to environmental factors in the remnant forest patches. Thus, the present study aimed at assessing the status of C stocks of tree biomass using an allometric equation in Kibate Forest (Ethiopia). Sixty–six plots (30×30 m) were laid out at 100 m interval distance along the altitudinal gradients in five transects. The results revealed that the highest C stocks (67.4%) per species were contributed by Juniperus procera, Ilex mitis var. mitis, Nuxia congesta, and Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata. The mean total tree biomass was 91.9 ± 10.01 Mg ha−1. The mean total C stock was 45.9 ± 5.17 Mg ha−1, out of which 38.3 ± 4.31 and 7.7 ± 0.91 Mg ha−1 were stored in above- and belowground C pools, respectively. Anthropogenic factors were negatively associated with the C-stock distribution in the study area. Thus, the status of the C stock of tree biomass related to anthropogenic factors indicates that sustainable forest management practice is needed in the study area to conserve biodiversity and mitigate climate change.
Highlights
Forests play an important role in the global carbon (C) balance for storage of C and combat adverse global climate change among other ecosystem services [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
A total of 125 species belonging to 104 genera and 52 families were identified in Kibate Forest
Nine woody species including Juniperus procera, Nuxia congesta, Ilex mitis var. mitis, Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata, Myrica salicifolia, Agarista salicifolia, Hagenia abyssinica, Buddleja polystachya, and Myrsine melanophloeos accounted for the highest proportion (74%) of basal area (BA)
Summary
Forests play an important role in the global carbon (C) balance for storage of C and combat adverse global climate change among other ecosystem services [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. The C stock is decreasing at the rate of 1–2 billion Mg per year due to human activities in tropical and subtropical forests [5]. Deforestation and forest degradation typically account for 17–20% of the world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions [1, 8,9,10,11]. If deforestation continues at the present rate of 2%, about 2.76 billion Mg of C stored in forest vegetation in Ethiopia will be released to the atmosphere within 50 years [13,14,15]. Carbon dioxide (CO2), which is partly released as a result of forest degradation, contributes to about 60% of the anthropogenic greenhouse effects and climate change [16, 17]
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