The Density of Carbon in Miombo Woodlands Subjected to Different Fire Frequency
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Date
2015-09
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Abstract
African miombo woodlands are concentrated in the Sub-Saharan region. The United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) under the Kyoto Protocol recognizes the
role of carbon sequestration in forests and woodlands. Due to large area coverage and
inaccessibility, African savanna fires are normally left unattended hence resulting in outbreaks of
uncontrolled and destructive fires commonly called wildfires. It has been reported that wildfires
have both negative and positive influence on carbon sequestration in forests and woodlands.
The present study was conducted in three forests namely Kitwe, Mgaraganza and Ilunde in
western Tanzania. Tree carbon density was estimated using biomass allometric model so far
developed for miombo woodlands and the level of significance between the differences of
carbon density was determined using ANOVA. Fire frequency of the three forests was
interptreted from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) satellite imagery
from the year 2001 to 2012. Tree carbon stock was significantly different among the studied
miombo woodlands (P < 0.05). Furthermore, it was revealed that tree carbon stock was not
significantly different between Mgaraganza and Ilunde forests (P > 0.05). In Ilunde forest, the
average number of wildfires per annum was 35, while in Mgaraganza and Kitwe forests were
0.4 and 0.08, respectively. The effects of wildfires are variable and contradictory depending on
the nature of the ecosystems and the existing circumstances. Frequent wildfires and
spontaneous suppression resulted in different carbon density. Since fire is crucial in miombo
woodlands, then prescribed burning could be prioritized to sustain sinks of carbon.
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Keywords
Fire frequency, carbon accounting in miombo woodlands