Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Carbon storage and density dynamics of associated trees in three contrasting Theobroma cacao agroforests of Central Cameroon

  • Published:
Agroforestry Systems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In Central Cameroon cocoa is mainly produced by household farming systems based on complex associations between cocoa and companion trees. Setup either on native/remnant forest or savannah, these agroforestry systems (AFS) are managed according their geographical position and local pedoclimatic conditions. In this paper, we investigated the effects of local management strategies on carbon (C) storage of live trees in three different cocoa production zones of Central Cameroon. In the 58 fields studied, 8,996 cocoa trees and 1,258 companions were surveyed. Tree sampling was non-destructive and to estimate C storage we used allometric models for above- and belowground biomasses. We measured abundance, height, diameter at breast height and determined species of companion trees. We distinguished between four cocoa plantation age categories (immature, young, mature and senescent) and three preceding systems (forest, forest gallery and savannah). We surveyed farmers’ use of each associated tree, allocated it to a functional category and asked if it had been introduced or conserved. Total C content of live trees was on average close to 70 t ha−1. We found that it mostly relied on associated trees—cocoa trees contribution being ac. 2–12 % of live trees total C. The level of contribution to C storage of companions from different use categories differed between sites—trees producing food had contributed most in Bokito and Obala while trees used for shading or fertility contributed most in Ngomedzap. Dynamics of C storage in live trees was found to be independent from cocoa trees growth and age. When aging, AFS continuously lost companion trees and especially conserved ones putatively because of farmers’ selective logging. Yet, AFS apparently maintained equivalent C storage abilities with time. Hence, even if cocoa do not contribute significantly to C storage in our study, the systems into which they are included are able to significantly store C and may also contribute to other ecological services such as conservation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aulong S (1998) Conditions d’execution de l’agrumiculture: Etude de cas; village de Ntsan. Monpellier France, Memoire de fin d’etude (Ingenieur agricole). CNEARC, Montpellier, p 114

    Google Scholar 

  • Bisseleua DHB, Vidal S (2007) Plant biodiversity and vegetation structure in traditional cocoa forest gardens in southern Cameroon under different management. Biodivers Conserv 17:1821–1835

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown S (1997) Estimating biomass and biomass change of tropical forests: a primer. FAO Forestry Paper, Urbana, p 55 p vii

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown DR (2006) Personal preferences and intensification of land use: their impact on southern Cameroonian slash-and-burn agroforestry systems. Agrofor Syst 68:53–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cairns MA, Brown S, Helmer EH, Baumgardner GA (1997) Root biomass allocation in the world’s upland forests. Oecologia 111:1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carsan S, Orwa C, Harwood C, Kindt R, Stroebel A, Neufeldt H, Jamnadass R (2012) African wood density database. World Agroforestry Centre, Nairobi

    Google Scholar 

  • Chave J, Andalo C, Brown S, Cairns MA, Chambers JQ, Eamus D, Folster H, Fromard F, Higuchi N, Kira T, Lescure JP, Nelson BW, Ogawa H, Puig H, Riera B, Yamakura T (2005) Tree allometry and improved estimation of carbon stocks and balance in tropical forests. Oecologia 145:87–99

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chave J, Muller-Landau HC, Baker TR, Easdale TA, Ter Steege H, Webb CO (2006) Regional and phylogenetic variation of wood density across 2456 neotropical tree species. Ecol Appl 16:2356–2367

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cheek M, Onana J-M (2011) Espéces Végétales de la Liste Rouge Du Cameroun: Un Guide pour les Enseignants des Écoles Secondaires. FCTV (Fondation Camerounaise de la Terre Vivante), Cameroon

    Google Scholar 

  • Clough Y, Barkmann J, Juhrbandt J, Kessler M, Wanger TC, Anshary A, Buchori D, Cicuzza D, Darras K, Putra DD, Erasmi S, Pitopang R, Schmidt C, Schulze CH, Seidel D, Steffan-Dewenter I, Stenchly K, Vidal S, Weist M, Wielgoss AC, Tscharntke T (2011) Combining high biodiversity with high yields in tropical agroforests. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 108:8311–8316

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher B, Christopher T (2007) Poverty cand biodiversity: measuring the overlap of human poverty and the biodiversity hotspots. Ecol Econ 62:93–101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilmour M. (2012) Consumption and production of cocoa: growing markets and helping farmers to meet future needs. In: ICCO (ed) 17th International Cocoa Research Conference, Yaoundé, Cameroon

  • Gockowski J, Dury S (1999) The economics of cocoa-fruit agroforests in southern Cameroon, International workshop on multi-strata systems with perennial tree crops. CATIE, Cartago

    Google Scholar 

  • Gockowski J, Sonwa D (2011) Cocoa intensification scenarios and their predicted impact on CO emissions, biodiversity conservation, and rural livelihoods in the Guinea rain forest of West Africa. Environ Manag 48:307–321

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gockowski JW, Stephan; Sonwa, Denis; Tchtat, Mathurin; Ngobo, Martine. (2004) Conservation because it pays shaded cocoa agroforests.pdf

  • Green RE, Cornell SJ, Scharlemann JPW, Balmford A (2005) Farming and the fate of wild nature. Science 307:550–555

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hairiah K, Dewi S, Agus F, Velarde S, Ekadinata A, Rahayu S, Van Noordwijk M (2011) Measuring Caron stocks across land use systems : a manual. World Agroforestry Center, ICRAF Southeast Asia Regional Office, Bogor, p 154

    Google Scholar 

  • Happi Y (1998) Arbres contre graminee: la lente invasion de la savane par la foret au Centre-Cameroun. Universié Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV), Paris, p 242

    Google Scholar 

  • Holdridge LR (1967) Life Zone Ecology. Tropical Science Center, San Jose, p 206

    Google Scholar 

  • Holdridge LR, Grenke WC, Hatheway WH, Liang T, Tosi JA Jr (1971) Forest environments in tropical life zones: a pilot study. Pergamon Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Jagoret P (2011) Analyse et évaluation de systèmes agroforestiers complexes sur le long terme : Application aux systèmes de culture à base de cacaoyer au Centre Cameroun. Montpellier SupAgro, Montpellier, p 288

    Google Scholar 

  • Jagoret P, Michel-Dounias I, Malézieux E (2011) Long-term dynamics of cocoa agroforests: a case study in central Cameroon. Agrofor Syst 81:267–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jagoret P, Michel-Dounias I, Snoeck D, Ngnogué H, Malézieux E (2012) Afforestation of savannah with cocoa agroforestry systems: a small-farmer innovation in central Cameroon. Agrofor Syst 86:493–504

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jose S (2009) Agroforestry for ecosystem services and environmental benefits: an overview. Agrofor Syst 76:1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalacska M, Sanchez-Azofeifa GA, Calvo-Alvarado JC, Quesada M, Rivard B, Janzen DH (2004) Species composition, similarity and diversity in three successional stages of a seasonally dry tropical forest. For Ecol Manag 200:227–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kotto-Same J, Woomer PL, Appolinaire M, Louis Z (1997) Carbon dynamics in slash-and-burn agriculture and land use alternatives of the humid forest zone in Cameroon. Agric Ecosyst Environ 65:245–256

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar BM, Nair PKR (2011) Carbon sequestration potential of agroforestry systems. Springer, Netherlands

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lugo AE, Gonzalez-Liboy JA, Cintron B, Dugger K (1978) Structure, productivity, and transpiration of a subtropical dry forest in Puerto Rico. Biotropica 10:278–291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin AR, Thomas SC (2011) A Reassessment of carbon content in tropical trees. PLoS ONE 6:e23533

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Miles L, Newton AC, DeFries RS, Ravilious C, May I, Blyth S, Kapos V, Gordon JE (2006) A global overview of the conservation status of tropical dry forests. J Biogeogr 33:491–505

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mokany K, Raison RJ, Prokushkin AS (2006) Critical analysis of root: shoot ratios in terrestrial biomes. Glob Change Biol 12:84–96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mosquera-Losada MR, Moreno G, Pardini A, McAdam JH, Papanastasis V, Burgess PJ, Lamersdorf N, Castro M, Liagre F, Rigueiro-Rodríguez A (2012) Agroforestry—the future of global land use. In: Nair PKR, Garrity D (eds) Past, present and future of agroforestry systems in Europe. Springer, Netherlands, pp 285–312

    Google Scholar 

  • muturzikin.com. (2007) Cartes linguistiques en Afrique : Nigeria & Cameroun

  • Njomgang R, Yemefack M, Nounamo L, Moukam A, Kotto-Same J (2011) Dynamics of shifting agricultural systems and organic carbon sequestration in Southern Cameroon. Tropicultura 29:176–182

    Google Scholar 

  • ONCC 2012 (-) Zones de production du Cacao au Cameroun

  • Pédelahore P (2012) Stratégies d’accumulation des exploitants agricoles : l’exemple des cacaoculteurs du Centre Cameroun de 1910 à 2010. Université Toulouse II Le Mirail, Toulouse, p 443

    Google Scholar 

  • Perfecto I, Vandermeer J (2008) Biodiversity conservation in tropical agroecosystems: a new conservation paradigm. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1134:173–200

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Santoir C, Bopta A (1995) Atlas régional Sud-Cameroun. Editions Orstom, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Sonwa D (2004) Biomass management and diversification within cocoa agroforests in the humid forest zone of Southern Cameroon. Göttingen. Göttingen, Cuvillier, p 112

    Google Scholar 

  • Sonwa DJ, Nkongmeneck BA, Weise SF, Tchatat M, Adesina AA, Janssens MJJ (2007) Diversity of plants in cocoa agroforests in the humid forest zone of Southern Cameroon. Biodivers Conserv 16:2385–2400

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vivien J, Faure J (2012) Arbres des forêts denses d’Afrique Centrale. Nguila Kerou (.J. Faure), France, p 945

    Google Scholar 

  • Weyerhaeuser H, Tennigkeit T (eds) (2000) Forest inventory and monitoring manual. Chiang Mai, Thailand

    Google Scholar 

  • Zanne AE, Lopez-Gonzalez G, Coomes DA, Ilic J, Jansen S, Lewis SL, Miller RB, Swenson NG, Wiemann MC, Chave J. (2009) Data from: Towards a worldwide wood economics spectrum. Dryad Data Rep

  • Zapfack L, Engwald S, Sonke B, Achoundong G, Madong BA (2002) The impact of land conversion on plant biodiversity in the forest zone of Cameroon. Biodivers Conserv 11:2047–2061

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all institutions that facilitated this study: the Institute of Agricultural research for Development (IRAD) and the Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD), in the framework of the ‘Agroforesterie Cameroun’ research platform in partnership (PCP). The authors would also like to thank Emmanuel Bouambi, research technician at IRAD for the help given on field.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CIRAD, UMR SYSTEM, Direction Régionale du CIRAD, BP 2572, Yaoundé, Cameroon

    Stéphane Saj

  2. CIRAD, UMR SYSTEM, SupAgro, Bâtiment 27, 2 Place Viala, 34060, Montpellier, France

    Patrick Jagoret

  3. Département des Plantes Stimulantes, IRAD, Nkolbisson, BP 2067, Yaoundé, Cameroon

    Stéphane Saj & Hervé Todem Ngogue

Authors
  1. Stéphane Saj
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Patrick Jagoret
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hervé Todem Ngogue
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stéphane Saj.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Saj, S., Jagoret, P. & Todem Ngogue, H. Carbon storage and density dynamics of associated trees in three contrasting Theobroma cacao agroforests of Central Cameroon. Agroforest Syst 87, 1309–1320 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-013-9639-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-013-9639-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation