Increased biomass for carbon stock in participatory forest managed miombo woodlands of Tanzania
Loading...
Date
2016
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Miombo (Zambezian savanna) woodlands are important forest vegetation in Tanzania. The forests contain
biomass which is vital for climate change mitigation strategy. However the extent of increasing biomass under
participatory forest management for carbon sequestration and storage is not clear. Understanding of this biomass
will aid development of effective climate change mitigation strategies and promote sustainable forest management.
This study involved 276 systematically determined concentric sample plots laid out in eight miombo woodland forests
(four in Mbeya region and four in Iringa region). Of these plots, 145 were laid in participatory managed forests and
131 in reference scenario, called business as usual (BAU) or open access forest selected in proximity. The main
finding was that most of PFM forests had significant increase in biomass (P < 0.05) as compared to the reference
scenario. Mean biomass increased from 48.05 t/ha ± 0.03 to 37.91 t/ha ± 0.19 in PFM forests. Likewise mean
biomass was 37.91 t/ha ± 0.11 to15.79 t/ha ± 0.13 for reference scenario BAU forests. This implied higher average
carbon stock in participatory managed forests (21.37 t/ha) against the reference scenario (11.28 t/ha). The results
provide evidence that participatory forest management approach in miombo woodlands of Tanzania have potential
for climate change mitigation strategies. Despite the challenge in determining reference scenario, these findings
present useful benchmark against which further study can be performed.
Description
Journal article
Keywords
Participatory forest management, Increasing forest biomass, Carbon stock, Miombo woodlands, Southern highland, Tanzania
Citation
http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2157-7625.1000182