Abstract
Disturbed African tropical forests and woodlands have the potential to contribute to climate change mitigation. Therefore, there is a need to understand how carbon stocks of disturbed and recovering tropical forests are determined by environmental conditions and human use. In this case study, we explore how gradients in environmental conditions and human use determine aboveground biomass (AGB) in 1958 national forest inventory (NFI) plots located in forests and woodlands in mainland Tanzania. Plots were divided into recovering forests (areas recovering from deforestation for <25years) and established forests (areas consistently defined as forests for ⩾25 years). This division, as well as the detection of year of forest establishment, was obtained through the use of dense satellite time series of forest cover probability. In decreasing order of importance, AGB in recovering forests unexpectedly decreased with water availability, increased with surrounding tree cover and time since establishment, and decreased with elevation, distance to roads, and soil phosphorus content. AGB in established forests unexpectedly decreased with water availability, increased with surrounding tree cover, and soil nitrogen content, and decreased with elevation. AGB in recovering forests increased by 0.4 Mg ha−1yr−1 during the first 20 years following establishment. Our results can serve as the basis of carbon sink estimates in African recovering tropical forests and woodlands, and aid in forest landscape restoration planning.
Highlights
Tropical forests store approximately 55% of the world’s forest carbon (C) stocks, acting as C sinks through a positive balance of tree growth, recruitment and mortality (Pan et al 2011)
African forests and woodlands are partial sources of income and act as safety nets for rural and semirural communities in situations of poverty, economic instability, and/or under the effects of climate change (Chomitz 2007, Djoudi et al 2015). Due to their vast extent, their unique composition and their ability to support surrounding human and non-human populations, while at the same time being under constant use, understanding the role that African forests and woodlands have in climate change mitigation is of utmost importance
aboveground biomass (AGB) in Tanzanian forests and woodlands is partially determined by gradients in environmental conditions and human use
Summary
Tropical forests store approximately 55% of the world’s forest carbon (C) stocks, acting as C sinks through a positive balance of tree growth, recruitment and mortality (Pan et al 2011). While forest C stocks and sinks in the tropics have primarily been studied in structurally intact, undisturbed forests in humid ecosystems (Brienen et al 2015, Qie et al 2017, Hubau et al 2020), disturbed and recovering forests are both increasing in extent (Aide et al 2013, Lewis et al 2015). African forests and woodlands are partial sources of income and act as safety nets for rural and semirural communities in situations of poverty, economic instability, and/or under the effects of climate change (Chomitz 2007, Djoudi et al 2015). Due to their vast extent, their unique composition and their ability to support surrounding human and non-human populations, while at the same time being under constant use, understanding the role that African forests and woodlands have in climate change mitigation is of utmost importance
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