Title : Estimation and mapping of asabot monastery dry afromontane forest carbon stock under diverse land-use scenarios
Abstract:
Even though the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church is acknowledged in the preservation patches of forest in the highlands, the church's role in conserving the Dry Afromontane ecosystem is not well documented. This study estimate and map carbon stock under three future land-use scenarios for sustainable management in the Asebot Dry Afromontane forest of Ethiopia. The study quantifies land use land cover (LULC), developed future land-use scenarios, and estimated carbon stock at the plot level. Three simulated LULC scenarios, such as Business As Usual (BAU), forest disturbance, and optimistic conservation, were developed for 2047. The LULC trends indicate that the forest and grassland cover decreased; meanwhile, the woodland and shrubland increases. In an optimistic conservation scenario, the forest, woodland, and shrubland cover would increases by 50% from the current coverage. Whereas, in a forest disturbance scenario, the woody vegetation covers would decrease. The average total carbon stock estimated from the field data ranges from 129 to 355.6 tons/ha. Because of the changes in LULC, the carbon stock amount decreased from 1986 to 2017 and will continue in the BAU scenario. In a forest disturbance scenario, the carbon stock would be decreased by 12.7% from 2017, while in an optimistic conservation scenario increases by 12.4%. The study shows that the Dry Afromontane forest, such as Asebot Monastery, has a positive role in climate change mitigation under optimistic conservation. Therefore, proper forest management is essential for enhancing ecosystem services in Dry Afromontane forests and contributing to the restoration of the down stream’s degraded landscape.
