Carbon storage, structure and composition of miombo woodlands in Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains

Abstract

We determine the aboveground biomass and carbon storage (ABGC) of trees and the herbaceous layer in miombo woodland in the Eastern Arc Mountains (EAM) of Tanzania. In four 1-ha sample plots in Nyanganje and Kitonga Forests, we measured all trees ‡10 cm diameter alongside height and wood mass density. The plots contained an average of 20 tree species ha )1 (range 11-29) and 344 stems ha )1 (range 281-382) with Shannon diversity values of 1.05 and 1.25, respectively. We weighted nine previously published woody savannah allometric models based on whether: (i) the model was derived from the same geographical region; (ii) the model included tree height ⁄wood mass density in addition to stem diameter; and (iii) sample size was used to fit the model. The weighted mean ABGC storage from the nine models range from 13.5 ± 2 to 29.8 ± 5 Mg ha )1 . Measured ABGC storage in the herbaceous layer, using the wet combustion method, adds 0.55 ± 0.02 Mg C ha )1 . Estimates suggest that EAM miombo woodlands store a range of 13-30 Mg ha )1 of carbon. Although the estimates suggest that miombo woodlands store significant quantities of carbon, caution is required as this is the first estimate based on in situ data. RésuméNous déterminons le stock de biomasse de carbone aérien (C abg ) dans les arbres et dans la couche herbacée de la forêt Ó

Diversity and Structure of Miombo Woodlands in Mozambique Using a Range of Sampling Sizes

“…Thus, study results further showed a higher diversity than other studies in the Miombo region, such as in Mozambique where Shannon indexes of 1.25 were obtained [9], and 1.05 from Tanzania's Miombo by Shirima et al [46], but similar to diversity (3.40, 2.90 and 3.10, respectively) in the landscapes of the Handeni Hill Forest Reserve, in Tanzania [47]. The H value (3.03-3.64) from the present study is probably due to previous disturbances, which opened the canopy and enabled regeneration of light tolerant genus, like Combretum [10].…”

“…3). Tree frequency decreases with the increasing diameter, which is common for natural forests with active regeneration and recruitment for the eight treatments analyzed [46,48]. In study area, there are different diameter distributions in different treatments, and human disturbances were found in all treatments, which were probably linked with illegal activities and bush fire.…”

Miombo Woodlands Research Towards the Sustainable Use of Ecosystem Services in Southern Africa

“…Dry Miombo ranges between 53-55 Mg ha -1 [45][46][47][48]. It is confirmed that wood and soil compartments are the most important of these stocks [48][49], but grass, litter and root may contribute significantly to carbon sequestration. The dynamics of Miombo is in general influenced by its tree component given its dominance.…”

“…given the fact that the diversity of soils, climate, hydrology and disturbances return highly variable biomass and carbon densities making a comparison among sites not always possible [28,49]. Biomass estimations are also relevant to understand the contribution of different pools (soils, grasses, litter, etc) as well as the role of drivers in the ecosystem biomass/carbon sequestration.…”

The private sector in climate governance: opportunities for climate compatible development through multilevel industry-government engagement

“…Deforestation accounts for 6-17% of global anthropogenic carbon emissions annually (van der Werf, Morton et al 2009), and Zambia has a deforestation rate of approximately 1-1.5% per year (Henry, Maniatis et al 2011, Mwitwa, Vinya et al 2012. While the amount of carbon stored in miombo forests (and therefore released through deforestation) is lower than in tropical wet forests, it remains a significant carbon store (Glenday 2008, Shirima, Munishi et al 2011. Uncontrolled charcoal and fuel wood extraction is a major primary driver of deforestation in Zambia, alongside agricultural expansion (Ham and Chirwa 2012).…”