Browsing by Author "Shirima, Deo D."

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Carbon storage, structure and composition of miombo woodlands in Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains
(Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2011) Shirima, Deo D.; Munishi, Pantaleo K. T.; Lewis, Simon L.; Burgess, Neil D.; Marshall, Andrew R.; Balmford, A.; Swetnam, Ruth D.; Zahabu, E.M
We determine the aboveground biomass and carbon stor- age (ABGC) of trees and the herbaceous layer in miombo woodland in the Eastern Arc Mountains (EAM) of Tanza- nia. In four 1-ha sample plots in Nyanganje and Kitonga Forests, we measured all trees ‡10 cm diameter alongside height and wood mass density. The plots contained an average of 20 tree species ha )1 (range 11–29) and 344 stems ha )1 (range 281–382) with Shannon diversity values of 1.05 and 1.25, respectively. We weighted nine previously published woody savannah allometric models based on whether: (i) the model was derived from the same geographical region; (ii) the model included tree height ⁄ - wood mass density in addition to stem diameter; and (iii) sample size was used to fit the model. The weighted mean ABGC storage from the nine models range from 13.5 ± 2 to 29.8 ± 5 Mg ha )1 . Measured ABGC storage in the herbaceous layer, using the wet combustion method, adds 0.55 ± 0.02 Mg C ha )1 . Estimates suggest that EAM miombo woodlands store a range of 13–30 Mg ha )1 of carbon. Although the estimates suggest that miombo woodlands store significant quantities of carbon, caution is required as this is the first estimate based on in situ data.
Relationships between tree species richness, evenness and aboveground carbon storage in montane forests and miombo woodlands of Tanzania
(Elsevier, 2014-12-05) Shirima, Deo D.; Totland, Ørjan; Munishi, Pantaleo K.T.; Moe, Stein R.
Understanding how carbon storage and tree diversity are related in forests and woodlands is crucial for a sustainable flow of ecosystem goods and services. The goal of this study was to determine how tree species richness, evenness and environmental factors influence aboveground live tree carbon stocks (AGC) in two tropical vegetation types in Tanzania. We surveyed trees and sampled soil from 222 vegetation plots (20 m × 40 m) in montane forests (n = 60) and miombo woodlands (n = 162). We used a multimodel inference approach to determine how AGC related to tree species richness, evenness and environmental factors, and linear mixed effect models to test the role of tree sizes on the AGC-richness and evenness associations. AGC were related unimodally to tree species richness and evenness in the montane forest. Likewise, AGC in the miombo woodlands was positively related to tree species richness. AGC from small trees were related unimodally to tree species richness in both vegetation types. Apparently the AGC had both monotonically increasing and decreasing associations with all abiotic environmental factors in both vegetation types. We emphasize that both tree size, number of multi-stemed trees and environmental factors have an important role in determining how AGC are related to richness and evenness. Finally, management of montane forests and miombo woodlands of Tanzania to enhance ecosystem benefit, such as AGC, will require strategies that consider tree sizes, tree species richness, evenness and underlying environmental and disturbance factors.