1.
Forest Carbon, Biodiversity and Fire
Emissions in the Beira Corridor Region
Natasha Ribeiro, Romana Bandeira, Valério Macandza, Almeida Sitoe
COP21, Paris, December 4, 2015

2.
Objectives
• Evaluate change in carbon stocks over a forest cover gradient
• Evaluate plant and animal species diversity over a forest cover
gradient
• Characterize fire regime
• Estimate GHG Emissions from fire and biomass loss

3.
Study Area
3
Mopane
Miombo
Undifferentiated
forest
Mountain forest
• Manica, Sofala e Zambézia
• Logging concessions, forest reserves,
hunting areas, community forestry areas

4.
Forest types
Mopane Mountain Forest
Undifferentiated
forest Miombo

5.
Methodology (1): Carbon and Vegetation Sampling
• 220 plots (50x20m)
• Trees: dbh>10 cm
• Crown cover: (>60%) High – (30-60%) Medium – (<30%) Low
• Above ground carbon: Locally developed allometric functions
• Soil organic carbon: 30 cm depth

6.
Methodology (2): Fire Regime
MODIS AQUA and TERRA data (MCD14ML and
MCD45A1https://earthdata.nasa.gov/data/
1. Density: # fires/ km2
2 . Frequency and Mean Return Interval (MFRI)
MFRI= T * (A / a) F = 1 / PRF ; T= analysis period
A= study area
a= burned area (km2)
3. Seasonality: early dry (May/June); Mid dry (July/August); late
(September/October)
4. Extent (ha)

7.
Methodology (3): CO2 Emissions
L- biomass burning emissions (tonnes)
Ai - burned area (ha)
Bi – available biomass for combustion (tonnes /ha)
Cf - Combustion factor (tonnes /ha)
Ggi – Emission factor (CO2 1580; CH4 0.012; N2O 0.007)
Lburned= Ai * Bi * Cf * Ggi * 10-3 (IPCC, 2006)

8.
Data collection
• Site selection
• 1 ha plots established for burn & control
• Weather condition
(temperature, wind speed and relative humidity – KRESTEL 4000)
• Biomass measurements
(before and after)
plots for biomass
measurements
Sub-plots distribution
inside the plot

9.
Methodology (4): Herb and grass component biomass
using control area calibration figures
Y = 0.0078559 +0.008X; Mopane woodlands (Tambara)
Y = 0.02994848+0.017449X; Miombo woodlands (Manica)
Y = -0028+0.002329X; Miombo woodlands (Gondola)
Y = 0.0737+0.004923X; Miombo woodlands (Mocuba)
Y = 0.0675+0.024015X; Miombo woodlands (Gile)
where: Y- Biomass in kg ;
X- Disc height reading
Tree component: allometric equations

10.
Re
Results

11.
Does plant species diversity decline with forest
cover?
0.1
1
10
100
0 20 40 60
RelativeAbundance(%)
Ranking
Miombo
High
Low
Medium
0.1
1
10
100
0 10 20 30
RelativeAbundance(%)
Ranking
Mopane
High
Low
Medium
0.1
1
10
100
0 10 20 30 40
RelativeAbundance(%)
Ranking
Mountain Forest
High
Low
Medium
Species Raking
Species Ranking Species Ranking

12.
Does the forest structure change with forest
cover?
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
5-15 15-25 25-35 35-45 45-55 55-65 65-75
Abundance(Trees/ha)
Diameter Class (cm)
Miombo
High
Medium
Low
0
50
100
150
200
250
ABundance(Trees/ha)
Diameter Class (cm)
Mopane
High
Medium
Low
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
5-15
15-25
25-35
35-45
45-55
55-65
65-75
75-85
95-105
105-115
135-145
145-155
155-165
165-175
175-185
185-195
195-205
Abundance(Trees/ha)
Diameter Class (cm)
Mountain Forest
High
Medium
Low

13.
Carbon stock by forest type and crown cover
0
50
100
150
200
250
Miombo Mopane Mountain Forest
AbovegroundCarbon(ton/ha)
Tree Carbon Stock
High
Medium
Low
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Miombo Mopane Mountain Forest
SoilCarbon(ton/ha)
Soil Carbon
High
Medium
Low

14.
14
• Fauna species richness did not vary
significantly with changes in forest cover;
• Differences in fauna composition is
determined by species turnover
(replacement of species) and not
nestedness (species loss or gain) along
the forest cover gradient
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Low Medium High
Numberofspecies
Forest cover
Fauna Diversity

15.
 The similarity of fauna
assemblages reduced
with the increase in the
difference of forest
cover in the habitat
 The density of birds
increased with the
reduction of forest
cover
Fauna Diversity

16.
Fire Regime: Density
Gondola
Tambara
Manica
Manica Province

17.
2. Fire Regime: Mean Fire Return Interval (MFRI)
Tambara Gondola
Manica
Manica Province

18.
4. Fire Regime: Extent
• Gondola
presents the
largest fire
extent;
• Interannual
variation
characteristic
of miombo
woodland

19.
5. Fire Regime: Seasonality
• Peak in
Aug/Sept
October
(Tambara).
• Pattern
similar to
other studies
(Ribeiro,
2007, Cangela
& Ribeiro, in
prep.).

20.
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
140,000
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
CO2(ton)
Anos
Tambara
Gondola
Manica
Estimativa de Emissões do CO2
0.0
100 000.0
200 000.0
300 000.0
400 000.0
500 000.0
600 000.0
700 000.0
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
CO2(t)
Anos
Tamb
ara
Gondo
la
IPCC (2006)
Field data (2014)
Other studies
(southern Africa):
- 448 ± 75 Tg (Lehsten
et al., 2009)
- 576 ± 72 Tg (Van der
Werf Scholes et al.,
2006)
- 45-132 Tg (Scholes et
al., 1996)
6. Fire CO2 emissions

21.
GHG emissions released during controlled fire
Variables
Districts
Gondola Manica Tambara Cheringoma Mocuba Gilé
Biomass before burn (Bi) in ton/ha 61.92 55.96 57.5 5.08 28.80 40.17
Biomass after burn in ton/ha 61.6 55.26 56.81 4.7 22.34 23.29
Burnt area (Ai) in ha 1 1 1 1 1 1
Combustion factor (Cf) 0.005 0.03 0.01 0.22 0.065
0.17
CO2 emissions (ton) 0.51 1.11 1.09 1.77 2,34 10,79
CH4 emissions (ton) 0.002 0.005 0.0052 0.007 0.028 0.130
N2O emissions (ton) 0.00006 0.0001 0.0001 0.0002 0.0164 0.0755

22.
Conclusions
No unique pattern observed in biodiversity change per forest cover.
Diversity may increase in areas with regeneration and reduce in newly changed
areas.
Difference in the composition of fauna assemblages is determined by species
turnover (replacement of species) and not nestedness (species loss or gain) along
the forest cover gradient.
Similarity of fauna assemblages reduced with increases in the variation in forest
cover in the habitat.
Bird species density increased with the reduction of forest cover.

23.
Conclusions
Fire regime reflects the pattern for southern Africa.
Spatial variations in density and frequency should be further studied in terms of impacts on the
ecosytems.
Given the amount of biomass and carbon stock lost we conclude that wildfires did not cause
substancial damage to the tree component; herb and litter components were not totally consumed.
CO2 emission estimates varied from 0.51 to 10.79 tonnes/ha
(early dry to late dry season fires)