Abstract
Forests are known to play an important role in regulating the global climate. They play a key role as both sinks and sources of carbon dioxide. Churches and monasteries have a long history of planting, protecting and conserving of trees. This study was conducted to assess and compare the biomass and soil carbon stock under monastery forest in relation to the adjacent natural forest at Goba Town of Bale Zone, Oromia Regional state. Two adjacent forests: Tekle-Haymanot monastery forest and the adjacent natural forest were selected.
Three parallel transect lines with 90m in-between the lines and plots were laid across each forest and a total of sixty main plots of 20×20m (thirty each) were assigned systematically for biomass inventory and soil carbon(SOC)stock determinations. A total of forty composite soil samples were collected from corner of each main plot nested for soil carbon analysis while bulk density samples were taken from the center of main plots. Result showed that mean above and below ground biomass carbon varied significantly (P<0.01) and (P<0.01) with forest type respectively, were higher under the monastery (159tha-1 and 42tha-1, respectively) than in the adjacent natural forest (105tha-1 and 27tha-1 respectively). The mean SOC stock showed no significant variation with the forest types, but marginally higher under the Monastery forest (127.9tha-1) than in the adjacent natural forest (119tha-1). SOC stock showed a decreasing trend with depth while the bulk density increases. The total carbon density under the Monastery forest was (328.9 tha-1) much higher than the adjacent natural forest (251 tha-1). Church and Monasteries play a great role on indigenous and religious knowledge in forest protection and management practices that have developed over generations through experiences but state managed natural forests have poor management and protection practices and considered as open access resources by the surrounding community . Therefore, the results of this study have positive role in reduction of greenhouse gases and show contributing of monastery and church forest for climate change mitigation.
Keywords: Above ground biomass carbon stock, Allometric equations, Litter
