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Assessment of Forest Carbon Sequestered in Dead Wood from Secondary Forest, Wildlife Reserve, Lefini Republic of Congo

Received: 13 March 2024     Accepted: 19 April 2024     Published: 25 December 2024
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Abstract

Dead wood, referred to here as necromass, is considered to be an important reservoir of forest carbon. In Congo, studies on the estimation of carbon in deadwood are scarce, so very little data exists that could contribute to the reflection on the national forest carbon measurement and monitoring program. It is in this context that this study on the estimation of forest carbon stored in dead wood from a secondary forest, in the "Bateke Plateau" landscape, was conducted. One hundred and three (103) standing deadwood samples and thirty-two (32) ground-lying deadwood samples, all ≥ 10 cm in diameter, were recorded over 1.79 km of transects, using the linear intersection sampling method. These deadwoods are mostly not in an advanced stage of decomposition, and are most abundant in smaller diameter classes. On average, the total carbon stock contained in the necromass is 0.067 t. ha-1 (±0.08). This carbon stock does not represent a significant share (0.01%) of the total above-ground carbon for trees ≥ 10 cm in diameter in plot 1. This study also showed that the carbon stock in the necromass varies very little between the study plots but not according to the type of dead wood considered. These results suggest that it is very important to reduce anthropogenic pressure on the forests of the Léfini Wildlife Reserve in order to strengthen carbon sinks.

Published in American Journal of Biological and Environmental Statistics (Volume 10, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajbes.20241004.13
Page(s) 114-123
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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Forest Carbon, Necromass, Above-Ground Biomass, Dead Wood

References
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    Mbete, P., Mankou, G. G. S., Mavoungou, A. Y., Ekandja, F. G., Koubouana, F. (2024). Assessment of Forest Carbon Sequestered in Dead Wood from Secondary Forest, Wildlife Reserve, Lefini Republic of Congo. American Journal of Biological and Environmental Statistics, 10(4), 114-123. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajbes.20241004.13

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    ACS Style

    Mbete, P.; Mankou, G. G. S.; Mavoungou, A. Y.; Ekandja, F. G.; Koubouana, F. Assessment of Forest Carbon Sequestered in Dead Wood from Secondary Forest, Wildlife Reserve, Lefini Republic of Congo. Am. J. Biol. Environ. Stat. 2024, 10(4), 114-123. doi: 10.11648/j.ajbes.20241004.13

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    AMA Style

    Mbete P, Mankou GGS, Mavoungou AY, Ekandja FG, Koubouana F. Assessment of Forest Carbon Sequestered in Dead Wood from Secondary Forest, Wildlife Reserve, Lefini Republic of Congo. Am J Biol Environ Stat. 2024;10(4):114-123. doi: 10.11648/j.ajbes.20241004.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajbes.20241004.13,
      author = {Pierre Mbete and Guénolé Géraud Sidoine Mankou and Alain Yves Mavoungou and Franck Gabrielle Ekandja and Félix Koubouana},
      title = {Assessment of Forest Carbon Sequestered in Dead Wood from Secondary Forest, Wildlife Reserve, Lefini Republic of Congo
    },
      journal = {American Journal of Biological and Environmental Statistics},
      volume = {10},
      number = {4},
      pages = {114-123},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajbes.20241004.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajbes.20241004.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajbes.20241004.13},
      abstract = {Dead wood, referred to here as necromass, is considered to be an important reservoir of forest carbon. In Congo, studies on the estimation of carbon in deadwood are scarce, so very little data exists that could contribute to the reflection on the national forest carbon measurement and monitoring program. It is in this context that this study on the estimation of forest carbon stored in dead wood from a secondary forest, in the "Bateke Plateau" landscape, was conducted. One hundred and three (103) standing deadwood samples and thirty-two (32) ground-lying deadwood samples, all ≥ 10 cm in diameter, were recorded over 1.79 km of transects, using the linear intersection sampling method. These deadwoods are mostly not in an advanced stage of decomposition, and are most abundant in smaller diameter classes. On average, the total carbon stock contained in the necromass is 0.067 t. ha-1 (±0.08). This carbon stock does not represent a significant share (0.01%) of the total above-ground carbon for trees ≥ 10 cm in diameter in plot 1. This study also showed that the carbon stock in the necromass varies very little between the study plots but not according to the type of dead wood considered. These results suggest that it is very important to reduce anthropogenic pressure on the forests of the Léfini Wildlife Reserve in order to strengthen carbon sinks.
    },
     year = {2024}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Assessment of Forest Carbon Sequestered in Dead Wood from Secondary Forest, Wildlife Reserve, Lefini Republic of Congo
    
    AU  - Pierre Mbete
    AU  - Guénolé Géraud Sidoine Mankou
    AU  - Alain Yves Mavoungou
    AU  - Franck Gabrielle Ekandja
    AU  - Félix Koubouana
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajbes.20241004.13
    T2  - American Journal of Biological and Environmental Statistics
    JF  - American Journal of Biological and Environmental Statistics
    JO  - American Journal of Biological and Environmental Statistics
    SP  - 114
    EP  - 123
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2471-979X
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajbes.20241004.13
    AB  - Dead wood, referred to here as necromass, is considered to be an important reservoir of forest carbon. In Congo, studies on the estimation of carbon in deadwood are scarce, so very little data exists that could contribute to the reflection on the national forest carbon measurement and monitoring program. It is in this context that this study on the estimation of forest carbon stored in dead wood from a secondary forest, in the "Bateke Plateau" landscape, was conducted. One hundred and three (103) standing deadwood samples and thirty-two (32) ground-lying deadwood samples, all ≥ 10 cm in diameter, were recorded over 1.79 km of transects, using the linear intersection sampling method. These deadwoods are mostly not in an advanced stage of decomposition, and are most abundant in smaller diameter classes. On average, the total carbon stock contained in the necromass is 0.067 t. ha-1 (±0.08). This carbon stock does not represent a significant share (0.01%) of the total above-ground carbon for trees ≥ 10 cm in diameter in plot 1. This study also showed that the carbon stock in the necromass varies very little between the study plots but not according to the type of dead wood considered. These results suggest that it is very important to reduce anthropogenic pressure on the forests of the Léfini Wildlife Reserve in order to strengthen carbon sinks.
    
    VL  - 10
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • National University of Agronomy and Forestry (ENSAF), Marien Ngouabi University (UMNG), Brazzaville, Congo

  • Laboratory of Applied Ecology and the Environment, Marien Ngouabi University (UMNG), Brazzaville, Congo

  • Laboratory of Applied Ecology and the Environment, Marien Ngouabi University (UMNG), Brazzaville, Congo

  • National University of Agronomy and Forestry (ENSAF), Marien Ngouabi University (UMNG), Brazzaville, Congo

  • National University of Agronomy and Forestry (ENSAF), Marien Ngouabi University (UMNG), Brazzaville, Congo

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