Anthropogenic pressure and carbon sequestration potential of agro-systems in the Haut-Sassandra classified forest (Côte d'Ivoire)

To address climate change, it is essential to quantify forest carbon in order to design more appropriate forest management policies. This study assesses the carbon sequestration potential of agrosystems in the Haut-Sassandra Classified Forest (HSCF), a state-owned forest that is highly degraded in Côte d’Ivoire. In the context of increasing deforestation, mainly driven by cocoa cultivation, the research aims to quantify the carbon storage capacity of different land-use configurations. The methodology was based on monitoring vegetation cover from 2018 to 2020 in 12 permanent plots subjected to four treatments:
Treatment (T1): cocoa plantations with maintenance and pod harvesting;
Treatment (T2): cocoa plantations without maintenance, with pod harvesting;
Treatment (T3): cocoa plantations without maintenance or pod harvesting;
Treatment (T4): natural forest (control).
Floristic inventories and dendrometric measurements were used to analyze plant diversity, aboveground biomass (using allometric equations), and carbon stocks. The results show an increase in species richness and biomass across all treatments, particularly in unmanaged plots (T2 and T3). Carbon stocks increased by 69% (T2) and 77% (T3), compared with only 5% in the natural forest (T4). However, treatment T4 still exhibits the highest overall carbon stock. Although unmanaged plots show a substantial increase in carbon stocks, the forest remains the most important carbon sink.