Shembo Alemayehu K, Soromessa Teshome, Demissew Sebsebe, Geremew Addisie, Ray Ram L, Carson Laura
Cooperative Agricultural Research Center, College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX, United States of America.
Department of Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
PLoS One. 2025 Jan 24;20(1):e0316886. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0316886. eCollection 2025.
The significance of forests in absorbing and storing carbon plays a crucial role in international greenhouse gas policies outlined by the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCC). This study was conducted in a typical tropical moist forest of Ethiopia to assess its carbon stock, a critical issue in climate policy. The study domain was divided into six strata using elevation criteria. Ninety sample plots were used to gather relevant data from all carbon pools (above-ground biomass, below-ground biomass, litter, herbs, lying dead woods, and soils) following the standard operating procedure. ANOVA, post hoc analysis and correlation tests were used to analyze the collected data. The finding revealed that carbon stock in Sele-Nono forest varies not only within its carbon pools but also across environmental factors. Moreover, the study indicated that soil, above-ground biomass, and lying dead woods store the majority of the carbon. The forest stored 284.81±107.81 tons of carbon per hectare, which is equivalent to absorbing 157.12 Megatons of CO2 from the atmosphere. This highlights the critical role of the forest in mitigating climate change on a global scale. The finding from this study encourages policymakers to rigorously focus on forest conservation as a strategy for sustainable climate mitigation. Moreover, conserving forests through strengthening UN initiatives like REDD+ is imperative to prevent potential emissions from land use changes, such as deforestation or degradation.
森林在吸收和储存碳方面的重要性在联合国气候变化框架公约（UNFCC）概述的国际温室气体政策中发挥着关键作用。本研究在埃塞俄比亚一片典型的热带湿润森林中进行，以评估其碳储量，这是气候政策中的一个关键问题。研究区域根据海拔标准划分为六个层次。按照标准操作程序，使用90个样地从所有碳库（地上生物量、地下生物量、凋落物、草本植物、枯立木和土壤）收集相关数据。使用方差分析、事后分析和相关性检验对收集到的数据进行分析。研究结果表明，塞勒-诺诺森林的碳储量不仅在其碳库内部存在差异，而且在不同环境因素之间也存在差异。此外，研究表明，土壤、地上生物量和枯立木储存了大部分碳。该森林每公顷储存284.81±107.81吨碳，相当于从大气中吸收157.12百万吨二氧化碳。这凸显了该森林在全球范围内缓解气候变化方面的关键作用。本研究结果鼓励政策制定者将森林保护作为可持续气候缓解战略予以严格关注。此外，通过加强诸如REDD+等联合国倡议来保护森林，对于防止土地利用变化（如森林砍伐或退化）产生的潜在排放至关重要。
