Abstract
Forest plays a vital role in their living biomass and soil by is if only through establishing a forest on non-forest and carbon sequestrate. Biomass and soil carbon stock density estimation enable us to understand the current status of carbon stocks and to derive its near next changes. The occurrence of CO2 as the main greenhouse gas in the atmosphere has the ability to influence the global climate change.
Fast-growing tree species help to mitigate climate change. This study was carried out to estimate the amount of carbon stock in both stand of C. lusitanica and E. globulus plantation in the Bule district southern, Ethiopia. The data were collected by using a systematic sampling method, with the sampling plots were selected by dropping a regular interval of 75 m and 100 m depending on the size of the forest area. A total of 60 plots rectangular quadrates having a size of 10m x 20m were used to measured DBH and total tree height parameters. Within these plots, five 1m2 subplots, four at the corners, and one at the center were laid out to collect soil and litter samples. The biomasses of trees in the forest were estimated by using species-specific allometric equations developed in Ethiopia. The mean total carbon density of the forest was 260.23 and 265.37 (t C ha-1 ) for C. lusitanica and E. globulus respectively. This is equivalent to 955.04 and 973.9 t C ha-1 of CO2 gas. The mean carbon stocks at the stand of E. globulus were estimated at more than in all carbon pools. The carbon density of Bule district forest can be considered as a medium when compared with other studies done elsewhere in the tropics.
KEYWORDS: Community plantation forest, biomass, and soil carbon density.
