Total Carbon Stock and Potential Carbon Sequestration Economic Value of Mukogodo Forest-Landscape Ecosystem in Drylands of Northern Kenya

Abstract

Carbon sequestration is one of the important ecosystem services provided by forested landscapes. Dry forests have high potential for carbon storage. How- ever, their potential to store and sequester carbon is poorly understood in Kenya. Moreover, past attempts to estimate carbon stock have ignored dryl- ands ecosystem heterogeneity. This study assessed the potential of Mukogodo dryland forest-landscape in offsetting carbon dioxide through carbon seques- tration and storage. Four carbon pools (above and below ground biomass, soil, dead wood and litter) were analyzed. A total of 51 (400 m2) sample plots were established using stratified-random sampling technique to estimate biomass across six vegetation classes in three landscape types (forest reserve, ranches and conservancies) using nested-plot design. Above ground biomass was determined using generalized multispecies model with diameter at breast height, height and wood density as variables. Below ground, soil, litter and dead wood biomass; carbon stocks and carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2eq) were estimated using secondary information. The CO2eq was multiplied by current prices of carbon trade to compute carbon sequestration value. Mean

± SE of biomass and carbon was determined across vegetation and landscape types and mean differences tested by one-way Analysis of Variance. Mean biomass and carbon was about 79.15 ± 40.22 TB ha−1 and 37.25 ± 18.89 TC ha−1 respectively. Cumulative carbon stock was estimated at 682.08 TC ha−1; forest reserve (251.57 TC ha−1) had significantly high levels of carbon stocks.