Determinants of aboveground carbon offset additionality in plantation forests in a moist tropical forest in western Kenya

Otuoma, John; Anyango, Beatrice; Ouma, Gilbert; Okeyo, David O.; Muturi, Gabriel M.; Oindo, Boniface O.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2016.01.028

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…First, in some areas, old-growth tropical forest stands are being converted to monoculture tree plantations of short rotation cycle (Otuoma et al 2016). This process has taken place, for instance, in large land extensions in South America and Southeast Asia, where high-carbon stock native forests have been extensively converted to oil palm, timber, and rubber plantations (Li et al 2007;Puyravaud et al 2010;Zhai et al 2014;Ahrends et al 2015;Zamorano-Elgueta et al 2015).…”

Section: Principle 4: Residual Carbon Stocks Should Be Quantitativelymentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond hectares: four principles to guide reforestation in the context of tropical forest and landscape restoration

Brancalion

Chazdon

2017

Restoration Ecology

116

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New climate change agreements emerging from the 21st Conference of the Parties and ambitious international commitments to implement forest and landscape restoration (FLR) are generating unprecedented political awareness and financial mobilization to restore forests at large scales on deforested or degraded land. Restoration interventions aim to increase functionality and resilience of landscapes, conserve biodiversity, store carbon, and mitigate effects of global climate change. We propose four principles to guide tree planting schemes focused on carbon storage and commercial forestry in the tropics in the context of FLR. These principles support activities and land uses that increase tree cover in human‐modified landscapes, while also achieving positive socioecological outcomes at local scales, in an appropriate contextualization: (1) restoration interventions should enhance and diversify local livelihoods; (2) afforestation should not replace native tropical grasslands or savanna ecosystems; (3) reforestation approaches should promote landscape heterogeneity and biological diversity; and (4) residual carbon stocks should be quantitatively and qualitatively distinguished from newly established carbon stocks. The emerging global restoration movement and its growing international support provide strong momentum for increasing tree and forest cover in mosaic landscapes. The proposed principles help to establish a platform for FLR implementation and monitoring based on a broad set of socioenvironmental benefits including, but not solely restricted, to carbon mitigation and wood production.

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Section: Principle 4: Residual Carbon Stocks Should Be Quantitativelymentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond hectares: four principles to guide reforestation in the context of tropical forest and landscape restoration

Brancalion

Chazdon

2017

Restoration Ecology

116

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“…The amount of carbon stored within a forest does not remain fixed through time. As trees grow and increase in size, the corresponding carbon stocks also increase, and these relationships between forest age and ecosystem carbon pools are well recognized (Otuoma et al, 2016). Forest carbon stocks typically increase with age until becoming relatively stable after 100 -150 years, while net ecosystem carbon balance often peaks much earlier and gradually declines to near zero (Pregitzer & Euskirchen, 2004;Bradford & Kastendick, 2010;Williams et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Forest Disturbance on Vegetation Structure and Above-Ground Carbon in Three Isolated Forest Patches of Taita Hills

Wekesa¹,

Leley²,

Maranga³

et al. 2016

OJF

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The structure and species composition of undisturbed natural forests serve as benchmarks for understanding forest carbon storage potential for reduced carbon emissions. Even though Kenya is seeking to stabilize forest cover, reverse degradation and increase forest cover through mechanisms such as REDD+, there is relatively little information on inherent forest carbon storage potential or its response to disturbance. Comparative studies were undertaken in three remnant fragments of indigenous forests in Taita Hills, Kenya to characterize the structure and forest carbon storage potential of undisturbed, moderately and heavily disturbed sites within these forests. The sensitivity of forest carbon storage estimates to different methods of tree biomass estimation were also examined, including estimates which used DBH, tree height and wood density from extracted tree cores. Disturbance altered the forest structure, reduced species diversity and decreased the capacity of the forests to sequester carbon. The forests' capacity to sequester carbon reduced by between 9.2% and 70.7% depending on the site (forest fragment) and level of disturbance. Models with DBH and wood density gave higher quantities of carbon of between 0.9% and 44.4% for sites exhibiting different levels of disturbance. The present results suggest that disturbance had strong influence on forest structure, species diversity and carbon stocks and therefore maintaining the forests' ecological integrity over the long-term may prove difficult if the frequency and intensity of disturbance increases. Moreover, development and implementation of effective mitigation strategies to reduce carbon emissions will require the use of local biomass models since they are accurate.

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“…The treatments were delineated using forest compartment registers [Kenya Forest Service, 2010]. Data were collected from the five sub-blocks using a variable area technique, which ensured that trees of different stem sizes were assessed in sampling plots of different sizes to enhance the probability of obtaining tree data in equal proportions [Nath et al, 2010;Otuoma et al, 2016]. The sampling unit comprised a concentric sample plot of 30 m radius as well as sub-plots with radii of 15 m, 10 m and 5 m. The sub-plots were nested within the sample plot each beginning from the center of the sampling unit.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The first concentric sample plot was located in the middle of a sub-block. Subsequent sample plots were located away from the centre in a Cartesian approach in a clockwise fashion [Otuoma et al, 2016]. The distance between the first sample plot and each of the other four sample plots was 200 m. The study employed a nested experimental design [Kuehl, 2000;Onwuegbuzie & Leech, 2007].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Manipulation of Psidium guajava to Facilitate Secondary Forest Succession in Tropical Forests

Otuoma¹,

Nyongesah²,

Owino³

et al. 2020

J. Ecol. Eng.

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Psidium guajava L. has been documented as an exotic invasive species in many parts of the world, but little is known about its interactions with native woody species during secondary forest succession in tropical forests. Its invasion and interactions with native species in different stages of secondary forest succession were assessed in Kakamega Rainforest in western Kenya. The study covered three forest blocks each with five different forest types, namely: open fields, young secondary forest, middle-aged secondary forest, old-growth secondary forest and disturbed primary forest, which served as the control. Open fields that were subjected to frequent clearing to control the spread of Psidium guajava remained under a thicket of the species two decades later. On the other hand, open fields where Psidium guajava was ignored, either due to lack of resources or sheer neglect, transformed into young secondary forest stands within a decade. The transformation increased woody species richness from 2.0±0.0 to 5.0±0.0 ha-1 , and the Shannon diversity index from 0.30±0.33 to 1.10±0.01. It reduced the dominance of Psidium guajava from 80.5±22.7 to 62.26±0.84% and changed the canopy structure. The change in canopy structure led to the mortality of Psidium guajava stems in the sub-canopy and understory layer, which significantly reduced its stem density from 1,111±313 to 639.4±45 stems ha-1. The pattern was repeated in middle-aged secondary forest stands with woody species richness increasing to 26.0±8.2 ha-1 , and Shannon index to 2.72±0.32. Psidium guajava's dominance and stem density decreased further to 30.44% and 400.57 stems ha-1 , respectively, due to mortality attributed to shading by native tree species. In the old-growth secondary forest, only snags of Psidium guajava were recorded. The species was not represented in the disturbed primary forest. The results indicate that Psidium guajava facilitates secondary forest succession by allowing shade-tolerant native tree species to recruit and grow in its shade. It is thereafter eliminated when the native species close the forest canopy. The species can be ecologically manipulated to facilitate post-disturbance forest regrowth and thereafter removing it when the forest canopy begins to close.

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Determinants of aboveground carbon offset additionality in plantation forests in a moist tropical forest in western Kenya

Cited by 12 publications

References 47 publications

Beyond hectares: four principles to guide reforestation in the context of tropical forest and landscape restoration

Beyond hectares: four principles to guide reforestation in the context of tropical forest and landscape restoration

Effects of Forest Disturbance on Vegetation Structure and Above-Ground Carbon in Three Isolated Forest Patches of Taita Hills

Ecological Manipulation of Psidium guajava to Facilitate Secondary Forest Succession in Tropical Forests

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