An evaluation of carbon dynamics in miombo woodlands

The vegetation of the miombo woodland is a highly heterogeneous phenomenon which makes it hard to assess biomass. Hence very little is known of their carbon dynamics and factors causing biomass variations. Estimating forest biomass is the first step towards carbon stock calculation. Current knowledge of miombo’s carbon (C) pools is limited despite its importance in the global C budget. The article will address questions on how soil and vegetation carbon stocks differ across a miombo woodland landscape to enhance understanding of C stocks in African woodlands, and to what degree and scale are those stocks linked? A 5 km transect cyclic sampling scheme was used to allow geostatistical analysis. Vegetation and soil C stocks were coupled in the landscape in the top 5 cm of soil (r2 = 0.24) but not with deeper soil C stocks, which were coupled to soil clay content (r2 = 0.38). This study suggests that C stock distributions are strongly linked to topography and soil texture. To optimise sampling strategies for C stock assessments in miombo, soil C should be sampled at > 26 m apart, and AG C should be sampled at > 1430 m apart in plots > 0.5 ha.