[en] Tropical forests store 40-50 per cent of terrestrial vegetation carbon1. However, spatial variations in aboveground live tree biomass carbon (AGC) stocks remain poorly understood, in particular in tropical montane forests2. Owing to climatic and soil changes with increasing elevation3, AGC stocks are lower in tropical montane forests compared with lowland forests2. 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 megagrams of carbon per hectare (95% confidence interval 137.1-164.2), which is comparable to lowland forests in the African Tropical Rainforest Observation Network4 and about 70 per cent and 32 per cent higher than averages from plot networks in montane2,5,6 and lowland7 forests in the Neotropics, respectively. Notably, our results are two-thirds higher than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change default values for these forests in Africa8. We find that the low stem density and high abundance of large trees of African lowland forests4 is mirrored in the montane forests sampled. This carbon store is endangered: we estimate that 0.8 million hectares 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 to guide forest conservation and reforestation interventions. Our findings highlight the need for conserving these biodiverse9,10 and carbon-rich ecosystems.
Disciplines :
Environmental sciences & ecology
Author, co-author :
Cuni-Sanchez, Aida ; Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York, UK. a.cuni-sanchez@york.ac.uk ; Department of International Environmental and Development Studies (NORAGRIC), Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway. a.cuni-sanchez@york.ac.uk
Sullivan, Martin J P ; Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK ; School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Platts, Philip J ; Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York, UK ; Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity, University of York, York, UK ; Climate Change Specialist Group, Species Survival Commission, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland
Lewis, Simon L ; School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK ; Department of Geography, University College London, London, UK
Marchant, Rob; Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York, UK
Imani, Gérard; Biology Department, Université Officielle de Bukavu, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Hubau, Wannes ; Service of Wood Biology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium ; Department of Environment, Laboratory of Wood Technology (Woodlab), Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Abiem, Iveren; University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria ; Nigerian Montane Forest Project, Yelwa Village, Nigeria
Adhikari, Hari ; Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Albrecht, Tomas ; Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic ; Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
Altman, Jan ; Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Science, Třeboň, Czech Republic
Amani, Christian; Biology Department, Université Officielle de Bukavu, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Aneseyee, Abreham B; College of Natural and Computational Science, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ; Department of Natural Resource Management, College of Agriculture and Natural Resource, Wolkite University, Wolkite, Ethiopia
Avitabile, Valerio ; European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy
Banin, Lindsay ; UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh, UK
Batumike, Rodrigue; Université du Cinquantenaire Lwiro, Département de sciences de l'environnement, Kabare, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Beeckman, Hans ; Service of Wood Biology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium
Begne, Serge K; School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK ; Plant Systematic and Ecology Laboratory, Higher Teachers' Training College, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Bennett, Amy C; School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Bitariho, Robert ; Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda
Bogaert, Jan ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Biodiversité et Paysage
Bräuning, Achim ; Institute for Geography, Friedrich Alexander University, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
Bulonvu, Franklin; Département de Eaux et Forêts, Institut Supérieur d'Agroforesterie et de Gestion de l'Environnement de Kahuzi-Biega (ISAGE-KB), Kalehe, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Burgess, Neil D; UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Center (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK
Calders, Kim ; Computational and Applied Vegetation Ecology (CAVElab), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Chapman, Colin; Department of Anthropology, George Washington University, Washington DC, USA ; School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa ; Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Northwest University, Xi'an, China ; International Centre of Biodiversity and Primate Conservation, Dali University, Dali, China
Chapman, Hazel ; Nigerian Montane Forest Project, Yelwa Village, Nigeria ; University of Canterbury, Canterbury, New Zealand
Comiskey, James ; Inventory and Monitoring Program, National Park Service, Fredericksburg, VA, USA
de Haulleville, Thales; University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium
Decuyper, Mathieu ; World Agroforestry (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya ; Laboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
DeVries, Ben; Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Dolezal, Jiri ; Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Science, Třeboň, Czech Republic ; Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
Droissart, Vincent ; Plant Systematic and Ecology Laboratory, Higher Teachers' Training College, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon ; AMAP Lab, Université de Montpellier, IRD, CNRS, INRAE, CIRAD, Montpellier, France
Ewango, Corneille; Faculté de Gestion de Ressources Naturelles Renouvelables, Université de Kisangani, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Feyera, Senbeta; College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Gebrekirstos, Aster; Dendrochronology Laboratory, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya
Gereau, Roy ; Missouri Botanical Garden, St Louis, MO, USA
Gilpin, Martin; School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Hakizimana, Dismas; Department of Biology, University of Burundi, Bujumbura, Burundi
Hall, Jefferson ; Smithsonian Institution Forest Global Earth Observatory (ForestGEO), Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Washington DC, USA
Hamilton, Alan; Kunming Institute of Botany, Kunming, China
Hardy, Olivier; Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
Hart, Terese; Division of Vertebrate Zoology, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, New Haven, CT, USA
Heiskanen, Janne ; Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland ; Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Hemp, Andreas; Department of Plant Systematics, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
Herold, Martin ; Laboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands ; Helmholtz Center Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section 1.4 Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics, Potsdam, Germany
Hiltner, Ulrike; Institute for Geography, Friedrich Alexander University, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany ; Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Leipzig, Germany
Horak, David ; Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
Kamdem, Marie-Noel; Plant Systematic and Ecology Laboratory, Higher Teachers' Training College, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Kayijamahe, Charles; International Gorilla Conservation Programme, Musanze, Rwanda
Kenfack, David ; Smithsonian Institution Forest Global Earth Observatory (ForestGEO), Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Washington DC, USA
Kinyanjui, Mwangi J; Department of Natural Resources, Karatina University, Karatina, Kenya
Klein, Julia; Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
Lisingo, Janvier; Faculté de Gestion de Ressources Naturelles Renouvelables, Université de Kisangani, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Lovett, Jon; School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Lung, Mark; Eco2librium LLC, Boise, ID, USA
Makana, Jean-Remy; Department of Ecology, Université de Kisangani, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Malhi, Yadvinder ; Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Marshall, Andrew; Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York, UK ; Tropical Forests and People Research Centre, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia ; Flamingo Land Ltd, Malton, UK
Martin, Emanuel H ; College of African Wildlife Management, Mweka, Tanzania
Mitchard, Edward T A ; School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
Morel, Alexandra ; Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
Mukendi, John T; Service of Wood Biology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium
Nchu, Felix ; Department of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville, South Africa
Nyirambangutse, Brigitte ; Biology Department, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda ; Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
Okello, Joseph ; Isotope Bioscience Laboratory (ISOFYS), Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium ; Mountains of the Moon University, Fort Portal, Uganda ; National Agricultural Research Organisation, Mbarara Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Mbarara, Uganda
Peh, Kelvin S-H ; School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK ; Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Pellikka, Petri; Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland ; State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
Phillips, Oliver L ; School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Plumptre, Andrew ; Key Biodiversity Areas Secretariat, BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK
Qie, Lan; School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK
Rovero, Francesco; Department of Biology, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy ; Tropical Biodiversity Section, Museo delle Scienze, Trento, Italy
Sainge, Moses N; Tropical Plant Exploration Group (TroPEG), Mundemba, Cameroon
Schmitt, Christine B ; Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany ; Conservation and Landscape Ecology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
Sedlacek, Ondrej; Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
Ngute, Alain S K ; Tropical Forests and People Research Centre, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia ; Applied Biology and Ecology Research Unit, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon
Sheil, Douglas ; Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Sheleme, Demisse; Water and Land Resources Center, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Simegn, Tibebu Y; African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), Biodiversity Conservation and Landscape Management Program, Simien Mountains National Park, Debark, Ethiopia
Simo-Droissart, Murielle; Plant Systematic and Ecology Laboratory, Higher Teachers' Training College, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Sonké, Bonaventure ; Plant Systematic and Ecology Laboratory, Higher Teachers' Training College, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Soromessa, Teshome ; College of Natural and Computational Science, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Sunderland, Terry; Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada ; Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Bogor, Indonesia
Svoboda, Miroslav; Department of Forest Ecology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
Taedoumg, Hermann; Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon ; Bioversity International, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Taplin, James ; UK Research and Innovation, London, UK
Taylor, David ; Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
Thomas, Sean C ; Institute of Forestry and Conservation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Timberlake, Jonathan; Biodiversity Foundation for Africa, East Dean, UK
Tuagben, Darlington; Forestry Development Authority of the Government of Liberia (FDA), Monrovia, Liberia
Umunay, Peter; School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
Uzabaho, Eustrate ; International Gorilla Conservation Programme, Musanze, Rwanda
Verbeeck, Hans ; Computational and Applied Vegetation Ecology (CAVElab), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Vleminckx, Jason ; Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
Wallin, Göran ; Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
Wheeler, Charlotte; School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
Willcock, Simon ; School of Natural Sciences, University of Bangor, Bangor, UK ; Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, UK
Woods, John T; University of Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia
Zibera, Etienne; Biology Department, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda
Acknowledgements We thank the people of the many villages and local communities who welcomed our field teams and became our field assistants, without whose support the AfriMont dataset would not have been possible. Cameroon: villages Elak-Oku, Bokwoango, Bakingili, Muandelengoh, Enyandong, Ekangmbeng, Ngalmoa, Dikome Balue, Muyange, Matamani; assistants E. Ndive, D. Wultof, F. Keming, E. Bafon, J. Meyeih, T. K. Konsum, J. Esembe, F. Luma, F. Teke, E. E. Dagobert, E. D. Ndode, N. F. Njikang; Democratic Republic of the Congo: Bunyakiri, J. Kalume, W. Gului, D. Cirhagaga, B. Mugisho. Kenya: assistants A. M. Aide, H. Lerapo, J. Harugura, R. A. Wamuro, J. Lekatap, L. Lemooli, D. Kimuzi, B. M. Lombo, J. Broas, J. Hietanen, V. Heikinheimo, E. Schäfer. Rwanda: assistants I. Rusizana, P. Niyontegereje, J. B. Gakima, F. Ngayabahiga. Tanzania: TEAM staff and affiliates. Uganda: K. Laughlin, X. Mugumya, L. Etwodu, M. Mugisa. For logistical and administrative support, we are indebted to international, national and local institutions: SOPISDEW, Mt Cameroon National Park, Tropical Plant Exploration Group (TroPEG), Institut Congolais de Conservation de la Nature, Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Itombwe Nature Reserve, NEMA Marsabit Office, Taita Research Station, Kenya Forest Service, Rwanda Development Board, Nyungwe National Park, Conservation International, the Smithsonian Institution, Wildlife Conservation Society, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, Tanzania National Parks Authority, Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology, Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, Uganda Wildlife Authority, Makerere University Biological Field Station, Uganda National Forestry Authority and Uganda National Council for Science and Technology. Field campaigns for AfriMont were funded by Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Intra-European Fellowships (number 328075) and Global Fellowships (number 74356), National Geographic Explorer (NGS-53344R-18), Czech Science Foundation (number 21-17125S), Rufford Small Grant Foundation (16712-B, 19476-D), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland (BIODEV project), the Academy of Finland (number 318645), Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the Leverhulme Trust, the Strategic Research Area Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in a Changing Climate, the German Research Foundation (DFG), Gatsby Plants, Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada and International Development Research Centre of Canada. This paper is also a product of the AfriTRON network, for which we are indebted to hundreds of institutions, field assistants and local communities for establishing and maintaining the plots, including the Forestry Development Authority of the Government of Liberia, the University of Liberia, University of Ibadan (Nigeria), the University of Abeokuta (Nigeria), the University of Yaounde I (Cameroon), the National Herbarium of Yaounde (Cameroon), the University of Buea (Cameroon), Bioversity International (Cameroon), Salonga National Park (Democratic Republic of Congo), The Centre de Formation et de Recherche en Conservation Forestière (CEFRECOF, Epulu, Democratic Republic of Congo), the Institut National pour l’Étude et la Recherche Agronomiques (INERA, Democratic Republic of Congo), the École Régionale Postuniversitaire d’Aménagement et de Gestion intégrés des Forêts et Territoires tropicaux (ERAIFT Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo), WWF-Democratic Republic of Congo, WCS-Democratic Republic of Congo, the Université de Kisangani (Democratic Republic of Congo), Université Officielle de Bukavu (Democratic Republic of Congo), Université de Mbujimayi (Democratic Republic of Congo), le Ministère de l'Environnement et Développement Durable (Democratic Republic of Congo), the FORETS project in Yangambi (CIFOR, CGIAR and the European Union; Democratic Republic of Congo), the Lukuru Wildlife Research Foundation (Democratic Republic of Congo), Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST, Uganda), WCS-Uganda, the Uganda Forest Department, the Commission of Central African Forests (COMIFAC), the Udzungwa Ecological Monitoring Centre (Tanzania) and the Sokoine University of Agriculture (Tanzania). The AfriTRION network has been supported by the European Research Council (291585, ‘T-FORCES’ – Tropical Forests in the Changing Earth System, Advanced Grant to O.L.P. and S.L.L.), the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (283080, ‘GEOCARBON’). We are grateful to A. Daniels, F. Mbayu, T. R. Feldpausch, E. Kearsley, J. Lloyd, R. Lowe, J. Mukinzi, L. Ojo, A. T. Peterson, J. Talbot and L. Zemagho for giving us access to their plot data. We also thank C. Chatelain (Geneva Botanic Gardens) for access to the African Plants Database and to H. Tang for helping to explore the use of GEDI data. Data from AfriTRON and most of AfriMont are stored and curated by ForestPlots.net, a long-term cyberinfrastructure initiative hosted at the University of Leeds that unites permanent plot records and their contributing scientists from the world’s tropical forests. The development of ForestPlots.net and curation of African data have been funded by many sources, including the ERC (principally from AdG 291585 ‘T-FORCES’), the UK Natural Environment Research Council (including NE/B503384/1, NE/ F005806/1, NE/P008755/1, NE/N012542/1 and NE/I028122/1), the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (‘RAINFOR’, ‘MonANPeru’), the EU Horizon programme (especially ‘GEOCARBON’, ‘Amazalert’) and the Royal Society (University Research Fellowship to S.L.L.).
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