Carbon stocks for different land cover types in Mainland Tanzania
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Carbon Balance and Management Open Access
RESEARCH
Carbon stocks for different land cover types in Mainland Tanzania Ernest William Mauya1*, Wilson Ancelm Mugasha2, Marco Andrew Njana3, Eliakimu Zahabu2,3 and Rogers Malimbwi2
Abstract Background: Developing countries participating in the mitigation mechanism of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+), are required to establish a forest reference emission level (FREL), if they wish to seek financial support to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. However, establishment of FREL relies heavily on the accurate estimates of carbon stock as one of the input variable for computation of the emission factors (EFs). The product of an EF and activity data, such as the area of deforestation, results in the total emissions needed for establishment of FREL. This study presents the carbon stock estimates for different land cover classes based on an analysis of Tanzania’s national forest inventory data generated through the National Forest Resources Monitoring and Assessment (NAFORMA). Results: Carbon stocks were estimated in three carbon pools, namely aboveground, belowground, and deadwood for each of the three land cover classes (i.e. Forest, non-forest, and wetland). The weighted average carbon stock was 33.35 t C ha−1 for forest land, 4.28 t ha−1 for wetland and 5.81 t ha−1 for non-forest land. The uncertainty values were 0.9% for forest land, 11.3% for wetland and 1.8% for non-forest land. Average carbon stocks for land cover sub-classes, which make up the above mentioned major land cover classes, are also presented in our study. Conclusions: The values presented in this paper correspond to IPCC tier 3 and can be used for carbon estimation at the national scale for the respective major primary vegetation type for various purposes including REDD+. However, if local based estimates values are needed, the use of auxiliary data to enhance the precision of the area of interest is recommended. Keywords: Carbon stock, REDD+, FREL, Emission factor, Uncertainty Background The significance of forests, particularly tropical forests, in the global carbon cycle has led to the consideration and recognition of forest-based climate change mitigation measures in the international climate negotiations, agreements and policy frameworks. Accordingly, to date a number of agreements have been reached [1]. Mostly notably, is the adoption of the Bali Action/roadmap in 2007 at the 13th Conference of Parties (COP13) and the subsequent recognition of REDD+ scheme, which is an *Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Department of Forest Engineering and Wood Sciences, College of Forestry, Wildlife and Tourism, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Box 3012, Morogoro, Tanzania Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
initiative referring to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation [2]. Essentially, REDD+ involves implementation of a variety of policy approaches and incentive plans to the activities
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