The high aboveground carbon stock of African tropical montane forests

Aida Cuni-Sanchez; Martin J P Sullivan; Philip J Platts; Simon L Lewis; Rob Marchant; Gerard Imani; Wannes Hubau; Iveren Abiem; Hari Adhikari; Tomas Albrecht; Jan Altman; Christian A Amani; Abreham B Aneseyee; Valerio Avitabile; Lindsay F Banin; Rodrigue Batumike; Marijn Bauters; Hans Beeckman; Serge K Begne; Amy C Bennett; Robert Bitariho; Pascal Boeckx; Jan Bogaert; Achim Bräuning; Franklin Bulonvu; Neil D Burgess; Kim Calders; Colin Chapman; Hazel Chapman; James A Comiskey; Thales de Haulleville; Mathieu Decuyper; Ben DeVries; Jiri Dolezal; Vincent Droissart; Corneille E N Ewango; Feyera Senbeta; Aster Gebrekirstos; Roy E Gereau; Martin Gilpin; Dismas Hakizimana; Jefferson S Hall; Alan Hamilton; Olivier Hardy; Terese B Hart; Janne Heiskanen; Andreas Hemp; Martin Herold; Ulrike Hiltner; David Horak; Marie-Noel Kamdem; Charles Kayijamahe; David Kenfack; Mwangi J Kinyanjui; Julia Klein; Janvier Lisingo; Jon C Lovett; Mark Lung; Jean-Remy Makana; Yadvinder Malhi; Andrew Marshall; Emanuel H Martin; Edward T A Mitchard; Alexandra Morel; John T Mukendi; Tom Muller; Felix Nchu; Brigitte Nyirambangutse; Joseph Okello; Kelvin S H Peh; Petri K E Pellikka; Oliver L Phillips; Andrew Plumptre; Lan Qie; Francesco Rovero; Moses N Sainge; Christine B Schmitt; Ondrej Sedlacek; Alain Senghor K. Ngute; See full text of article for full list of authors

doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03728-4

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The high aboveground carbon stock of African tropical montane forests

Journal article

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The high aboveground carbon stock of African tropical montane forests

Aida Cuni-Sanchez, Martin J P Sullivan, Philip J Platts, Simon L Lewis, Rob Marchant, Gerard Imani, Wannes Hubau, Iveren Abiem, Hari Adhikari, Tomas Albrecht, …

Nature, Vol.596, pp.536-542

2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03728-4

PMID: 34433947

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Abstract

carbon cycle

ecosystem services

forest ecology

Tropical forests store 40-50% of terrestrial vegetation carbon. Spatial variations in aboveground live tree biomass carbon (AGC) stocks remain poorly understood, in particular in tropical montane forests. Because of climatic and soil changes with increasing elevation, AGC stocks are lower in tropical montane compared to lowland forests. Here we assemble and analyse a dataset of structurally intact old-growth forests (AfriMont) spanning 44 montane sites in 12 African countries. We find that montane sites in the AfriMont plot network have a mean AGC-stock of 149.4 Mg C/ha (95% CI 137.1-164.2), comparable to lowland forests in the African Tropical Rainforest Observation Network and about 70% and 32% higher than averages from plot networks in montane and lowland forests in the Neotropics, respectively. Notably, our results are two-thirds higher than the IPCC default values for these forests in Africa. We find that the low stem density and high abundance of large trees of African lowland forests is mirrored in the montane forests sampled. This carbon store is endangered: we estimate that 0.8 million ha of old-growth African montane forest have been lost since 2000. We provide country-specific montane forest AGC stock estimates modelled from our plot network to help guide forest conservation and reforestation interventions. Our findings highlight the need for conserving these biodiverse and carbon-rich ecosystems.

Details

Title: The high aboveground carbon stock of African tropical montane forests
Authors: Aida Cuni-Sanchez (Author) - University of York
Martin J P Sullivan (Author) - University of Leeds
Philip J Platts (Author) - University of York
Simon L Lewis (Author) - University of Leeds
Rob Marchant (Author) - University of York
Gerard Imani (Author) - Université Officielle de Bukavu
Wannes Hubau (Author) - Royal Museum for Central Africa
Iveren Abiem (Author) - University of Jos
Hari Adhikari (Author) - University of Helsinki
Tomas Albrecht (Author) - Charles University
Jan Altman (Author) - Czech Academy of Sciences
Christian A Amani (Author) - Université Officielle de Bukavu
Abreham B Aneseyee (Author) - Addis Ababa University
Valerio Avitabile (Author) - European Commission
Lindsay F Banin (Author) - Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
Rodrigue Batumike (Author) - Université du Cinquantenaire Lwiro
Marijn Bauters (Author) - Ghent University
Hans Beeckman (Author) - Royal Museum for Central Africa
Serge K Begne (Author) - University of Leeds
Amy C Bennett (Author) - University of Leeds
Robert Bitariho (Author) - Mbarara University of Science and Technology
Pascal Boeckx (Author) - Ghent University
Jan Bogaert (Author) - University of Liège
Achim Bräuning (Author) - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Franklin Bulonvu (Author) - Institut Supérieur d’Agroforesterie et de Gestion de l’Environnement de Kahuzi-Biega
Neil D Burgess (Author) - UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre
Kim Calders (Author) - Ghent University
Colin Chapman (Author) - George Washington University
Hazel Chapman (Author) - University of Canterbury
James A Comiskey (Author) - National Park Service
Thales de Haulleville (Author) - Ghent University
Mathieu Decuyper (Author) - World Agroforestry
Ben DeVries (Author) - University of Guelph
Jiri Dolezal (Author) - Czech Academy of Sciences
Vincent Droissart (Author) - Université de Montpellier
Corneille E N Ewango (Author) - Université de Kisangani
Feyera Senbeta (Author) - Addis Ababa University
Aster Gebrekirstos (Author) - World Agroforestry Centre
Roy E Gereau (Author) - Missouri Botanical Garden
Martin Gilpin (Author) - University of Leeds
Dismas Hakizimana (Author) - Universite Du Burundi
Jefferson S Hall (Author) - Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Alan Hamilton (Author) - Kunming Institute of Botany
Olivier Hardy (Author) - Université Libre de Bruxelles
Terese B Hart (Author) - Yale Peabody Museum
Janne Heiskanen (Author) - University of Helsinki
Andreas Hemp (Author) - University of Bayreuth
Martin Herold (Author) - Wageningen University & Research
Ulrike Hiltner (Author) - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
David Horak (Author) - Charles University
Marie-Noel Kamdem (Author) - University of Yaoundé I
Charles Kayijamahe (Author) - International Gorilla Conservation Programme
David Kenfack (Author) - Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Mwangi J Kinyanjui (Author) - Karatina University
Julia Klein (Author) - Colorado State University
Janvier Lisingo (Author) - Université de Kisangani
Jon C Lovett (Author) - University of Leeds
Mark Lung (Author) - Eco2librium LLC
Jean-Remy Makana (Author) - Université de Kisangani
Yadvinder Malhi (Author) - University of Oxford
Andrew Marshall (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Tropical Forests and People Research Centre
Emanuel H Martin (Author) - College of African Wildlife Management
Edward T A Mitchard (Author) - University of Edinburgh
Alexandra Morel (Author) - University of Dundee
John T Mukendi (Author) - Royal Museum for Central Africa
Tom Muller (Author)
Felix Nchu (Author) - Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Brigitte Nyirambangutse (Author) - University of Rwanda
Joseph Okello (Author) - Ghent University
Kelvin S H Peh (Author) - University of Cambridge
Petri K E Pellikka (Author) - University of Helsinki
Oliver L Phillips (Author) - University of Leeds
Andrew Plumptre (Author) - BirdLife international
Lan Qie (Author) - University of Lincoln
Francesco Rovero (Author) - Museo tridentino di scienze naturali
Moses N Sainge (Author) - Tropical Plant Exploration Group
Christine B Schmitt (Author) - University of Bonn
Ondrej Sedlacek (Author) - Charles University
Alain Senghor K. Ngute (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Tropical Forests and People Research Centre
See full text of article for full list of authors (Author)
Publication details: Nature, Vol.596, pp.536-542
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
Date published: 2021
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03728-4
ISSN: 1476-4687
PMID: 34433947
Organisation Unit: Tropical Forests and People Research Centre; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Forest Research Institute; Sustainability Research Cluster
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99563308702621
Output Type: Journal article

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