Carbon Stock Assessment of Four Selected Agroforestry Systems in Owerri-West Local Government Area, Nigeria

Aim: The aim of the study is to generate data on the carbon stock in four predominant agroforestry systems in the southeast Nigeria. Agroforestry (AF) system studied were oil palm, plantain, Bush mango and mixed agroforestry systems.

Methods: Methodologies adopted were measurement of diameter at breast height (dbh) of woody species, soil and litter sampling and the use of allometric equations in the determination of biomass carbon.

Results: The results obtained showed that total agroforestry carbon ranged from 160.2±102.2Mg C ha-1 to 130.7 ±93.2 Mg C ha-1. Mixed AF system recorded the highest total biomass carbon of 8.39 ±1.4 Mg C ha-1 and lowest in bush mango AF. There was significant positive relationship between total biomass carbon and species richness and total agroforestry carbon. Also, SOC positively with all the ecological parameters examined. Soil organic carbon contributed significantly to the total agroforestry carbon recorded in this study.

Conclusion: With the level of carbon stock observed in the biomass and soils of the agroforestry systems in the region, agroforestry practices should be encouraged to boost climate change mitigation.