Assessing the Potential Contribution of Latex from Rubber (Hevea Brasiliensis) Plantations as a Carbon Sink

Abstract

Introduction Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) is a fast growing perennial tree which can attain a diameter at breast height (dbh) of about 35 cm, a height of about 40 m, and grows well in tropical areas in tropical climates (Charoenjit, Zuddas, Allemand, Pattanakiat, & Pachana, 2015). Due to its fast-growing nature, it is associated with high level of biomass and poses as a great prospect in sequestering carbon over its lifetime(Nguyen, 2013). According to (Brahma, Nath& Das, 2016), its biomass carbon stock is comparable or even more than many tropical and subtropical forestry and agroforestry systems. Due to the increasing demand of natural rubber and its commercial consistency, rubber plantations have attracted the interests of policy makers as well as cultivators in secondary and degraded forests restoration. Globally, massive expansion of rubber plantations have been recorded in the world's subtropical and tropical areas over the past 50 years (Chen et al., 2016). This rapid development of rubber plantations is recorded in Southeast-Asia, the Amazon Basin and Africa with an estimated total planted area of 10 million hectares (M ha) out of the estimated 4 billion hectares (B ha) coverage for total world forests (FAO, 2010).A typical case of rubber afforestation and reforestation is in Columbia where highly degraded lands have seen rubber cultivation of 1,500 hectares (World Bank, 2005). Primarily managed for latex extraction, Heveaplays significant role in vegetation carbon stock management and climate change mitigation (Brahma et al., 2016).The Afforestation and Reforestation program under the Clean Development Mechanism (AR-CDM) targeted at improving terrestrial carbon sinks to reduce emitted carbon, provides a boost incentive for planted forests(Watson, 2009).Rubber on large scale production are accounted for as planted forests (Egbe, Tabot, Fonge & Bechem, 2012)and contributes to development by financial gains and carbon emissions reduction.

Implications of Spatio-Temporal Land Use/Cover Changes for Ecosystem Services Supply in the Coastal Landscapes of Southwestern Ghana, West Africa

“…The derived land cover classes (see Section 3.1) were the basis for representing ES supply with land cover types occurring in the study region [17]. Our proxy measures for carbon storage were based on data from primary ecological studies, which estimated aboveground carbon in multiple mangrove stands along Ghana's coast and also in rubber plantations [50][51][52]. Similarly, primary ecological studies that estimated aboveground tree biomass across mangrove stands were utilized as proxies for fuelwood supply.…”

“…Because of land use competition between rubber plantation and tropical forestry, the potential role of rubber plantations in ecosystem services provisioning is gaining scholarly attention (e.g., [46,47]). Carbon in a rubber plantation is stored in aboveground and belowground biomass and in latex and soil [52]. The quantity of carbon stored in rubber varies with the age of trees in a plantation.…”

“…Site specific allometric equations have been developed for estimating carbon sequestered in rubber plantations [53]. Using data collected from 25 sample plots in rubber plantations located in Ghana's western region, Tawiah et al [52] integrated data on the age of rubber plantations, field-measured diameter at breast height and latex production in allometric equations to estimate aboveground, belowground and latex carbon. In this study, we utilized proxy values from Tawiah et al [52] to estimate aboveground carbon for the study landscape according to the formula:…”