Wang, X.; Li, Z.; Mwangi, B.; Zhao, H.; Qiu, Z.; Zhou, G.; Yang, M.; Wu, Z.; Li, Y. Unignorable Factors in Carbon Stocks Assessment of Tropical Forests: Buttress Roots. Preprints2024, 2024061718. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202406.1718.v1
APA Style
Wang, X., Li, Z., Mwangi, B., Zhao, H., Qiu, Z., Zhou, G., Yang, M., Wu, Z., & Li, Y. (2024). Unignorable Factors in Carbon Stocks Assessment of Tropical Forests: Buttress Roots. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202406.1718.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Wang, X., Zhongmin Wu and Yuelin Li. 2024 "Unignorable Factors in Carbon Stocks Assessment of Tropical Forests: Buttress Roots" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202406.1718.v1
Abstract
Assessing carbon stocks in tropical forests is crucial for understanding their role in mitigating climate change. (1) Background: However, existing assessments have underestimated certain factors that can substantially influence carbon dynamics. (2) Methods: This study focuses on one such factor - buttress roots from a tropical forest. (3) Results: Our findings reveal that a significant proportion of trees (69.57%) had 3 to 5 buttress roots per tree. The total biomass of the buttress roots and the aboveground portion of the trees with buttress roots were calculated to be 8.5 tonnes/ha and 10.7 tonnes/ha respectively. The buttress root biomass accounted for 16.18% of the total tree biomass. It was observed that the presence of buttress roots during both the rainy and dry seasons increased the soil organic carbon content by an average of 20.8% in the upslope areas with buttress roots. During the rainy season, the presence of buttress roots did not affect the heavy fraction organic carbon in the soil layers in a statistically significant way. Regardless of the season, the soil respiration rate in the areas without buttress roots was higher than that in the areas with buttress roots. The presence of buttress roots had a positive effect on soil nutrient concentration in all seasons, creating a healthier environment for trees. Tree species with buttress roots had on average 20% higher organic carbon content during both the wet and dry seasons. (4) Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of considering buttress roots in carbon stock assessments and forest management strategies. By integrating buttress roots into carbon accounting models, we can obtain more accurate estimates of carbon stock potential and develop more effective conservation and restoration strategies for tropical forests.
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
