Revista de ecosistemas y ecografía

Abstracto

The Effect of Age of Exclosures and Aspect on Aboveground Carbon of Boswellia papyrifera Dominated Woodland of Kafta Humera, Western Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

 Yikunoamlak Gebrewahid

This study was conducted in Boswellia dominated woodland at Kafta Humera to estimate the amount of carbon stored in different age of exclosures and along different aspects. Ages of exclosures (eight, four, two and zero year) were used, and the aspects were classified in to east, west, north and south aspects. One hundred twenty eight (128) sampling quadrants having an area of 20 m × 20 m, were systematically laid using four transect lines at different distance. The aboveground carbon was analyzed using two-way analysis of variance. A total of twenty three (21) woody spices belongs to thirteen (13) families were identified and documented. There were significantly different (P<0.05) among age of exclosures. Eight-year exclosure was significantly higher in aboveground biomass (88.57 Mg/ha) and aboveground carbon (41.63 Mg/ha) followed by four, two and zero years of exclosure. Despite no significant differences (P<0.05) was seen between aspect for aboveground biomass and carbon. It had the order of west>east>south>north aspects. The results confirmed that exclosures plays a major role in the conservation of native woody species. However, more afforestation and reforestation are needed for better carbon storage in all exclosures.