|
| We determine the aboveground biomass and carbon storage (ABGC) of trees and the herbaceous layer in miombo woodland in the Eastern Arc Mountains (EAM) of Tanzania. In four 1-ha sample plots in Nyanganje and Kitonga Forests, we measured all trees 10 cm diameter alongside height and wood mass density. The plots contained an average of 20 tree species ha(-1) (range 11-29) and 344 stems ha(-1) (range 281-382) with Shannon diversity values of 1.05 and 1.25, respectively. We weighted nine previously published woody savannah allometric models based on whether: (i) the model was derived from the same geographical region; (ii) the model included tree height/-wood mass density in addition to stem diameter; and (iii) sample size was used to fit the model. The weighted mean ABGC storage from the nine models range from 13.5 +/- 2 to 29.8 +/- 5 Mg ha(-1). Measured ABGC storage in the herbaceous layer, using the wet combustion method, adds 0.55 +/- 0.02 Mg C ha(-1). Estimates suggest that EAM miombo woodlands store a range of 13-30 Mg ha(-1) of carbon. Although the estimates suggest that miombo woodlands store significant quantities of carbon, caution is required as this is the first estimate based on in situ data. | |
|