Fragmentation is the main driver of residual forest aboveground biomass in West African low forest-high deforestation landscapes
Tropical forests play a crucial role in climate regulation due to their high carbon sequestration capacity. However, degradation and disturbances in these forests may result in significant carbon losses. This study focuses on the impact of various biophysical, anthropogenic, and landscape factors on...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Trees, Forests and People |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666719323001097 |
| _version_ | 1797289688675909632 |
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| author | Soulemane Traoré Irie Casimir Zo-Bi Camille Piponiot Raphaël Aussenac Bruno Hérault |
| author_facet | Soulemane Traoré Irie Casimir Zo-Bi Camille Piponiot Raphaël Aussenac Bruno Hérault |
| author_sort | Soulemane Traoré |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Tropical forests play a crucial role in climate regulation due to their high carbon sequestration capacity. However, degradation and disturbances in these forests may result in significant carbon losses. This study focuses on the impact of various biophysical, anthropogenic, and landscape factors on aboveground biomass (AGB) in heavily disturbed landscapes of Côte d'Ivoire (West Africa), a typical low-forest and high-deforestation country. AGB estimates from a National Forest Inventory dataset have been linked to five categories of variables (Climate, Soil, Topography, Landscape, and Human-related) through a random forest modeling approach that addressed collinearity among variables, selected key variables from each category, and used spatial cross-validation to evaluate model performance. The comprehensive model, combining landscape composition, physical soil properties, and climate variables, demonstrated strong performance with an R-squared of 0.62. Notably, the percentage of landscape occupied by forest within a radius of 1000 m (PLAND1000) had a highly significant impact on AGB, exhibiting a notable increase when PLAND1000 exceeded 80 % and a decrease when it felt below 25 %. Soil properties, both physical (Bulk Density and Coarse Fraction) and chemical (soil pH), significantly influenced AGB, too. Interestingly, climatic, topographic, and other anthropogenic variables had minimal relevance in predicting AGB, suggesting that their effects may have been captured by landscape and soil integrative variables. In order to enhance forest preservation and restoration initiatives in the face of deforestation and fragmentation challenges in the West African region, we recommend (i) evaluating the appropriate landscape scale of effect (a 1000 m radius circle being the most significant in this study); (ii) prioritizing the preservation or restoration of dense forest landscapes; and (iii) integrating landscape composition into forest management policies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T19:08:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b563d803c07f4eb68cf9c48435a66aef |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-7193 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T19:08:41Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Trees, Forests and People |
| spelling | doaj.art-b563d803c07f4eb68cf9c48435a66aef2024-03-01T05:07:29ZengElsevierTrees, Forests and People2666-71932024-03-0115100477Fragmentation is the main driver of residual forest aboveground biomass in West African low forest-high deforestation landscapesSoulemane Traoré0Irie Casimir Zo-Bi1Camille Piponiot2Raphaël Aussenac3Bruno Hérault4Ministry of Water and Forests, Abidjan, Republic of Côte d'Ivoire; INPHB, Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Yamoussoukro, Republic of Côte d'IvoireINPHB, Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Yamoussoukro, Republic of Côte d'IvoireCirad, UPR Forêts et Sociétés, 34398 Montpellier, France; Forêts et Sociétés, Univ Montpellier, Cirad, Montpellier, FranceINPHB, Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Yamoussoukro, Republic of Côte d'Ivoire; Cirad, UPR Forêts et Sociétés, 34398 Montpellier, FranceCirad, UPR Forêts et Sociétés, 34398 Montpellier, France; Forêts et Sociétés, Univ Montpellier, Cirad, Montpellier, France; Corresponding author at: Cirad, UPR Forêts et Sociétés, 34398 Montpellier, France.Tropical forests play a crucial role in climate regulation due to their high carbon sequestration capacity. However, degradation and disturbances in these forests may result in significant carbon losses. This study focuses on the impact of various biophysical, anthropogenic, and landscape factors on aboveground biomass (AGB) in heavily disturbed landscapes of Côte d'Ivoire (West Africa), a typical low-forest and high-deforestation country. AGB estimates from a National Forest Inventory dataset have been linked to five categories of variables (Climate, Soil, Topography, Landscape, and Human-related) through a random forest modeling approach that addressed collinearity among variables, selected key variables from each category, and used spatial cross-validation to evaluate model performance. The comprehensive model, combining landscape composition, physical soil properties, and climate variables, demonstrated strong performance with an R-squared of 0.62. Notably, the percentage of landscape occupied by forest within a radius of 1000 m (PLAND1000) had a highly significant impact on AGB, exhibiting a notable increase when PLAND1000 exceeded 80 % and a decrease when it felt below 25 %. Soil properties, both physical (Bulk Density and Coarse Fraction) and chemical (soil pH), significantly influenced AGB, too. Interestingly, climatic, topographic, and other anthropogenic variables had minimal relevance in predicting AGB, suggesting that their effects may have been captured by landscape and soil integrative variables. In order to enhance forest preservation and restoration initiatives in the face of deforestation and fragmentation challenges in the West African region, we recommend (i) evaluating the appropriate landscape scale of effect (a 1000 m radius circle being the most significant in this study); (ii) prioritizing the preservation or restoration of dense forest landscapes; and (iii) integrating landscape composition into forest management policies.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666719323001097Côte d'IvoireTropical forestsAboveground biomassForest degradationRandom forest modellingLandscape fragmentation |
| spellingShingle | Soulemane Traoré Irie Casimir Zo-Bi Camille Piponiot Raphaël Aussenac Bruno Hérault Fragmentation is the main driver of residual forest aboveground biomass in West African low forest-high deforestation landscapes Trees, Forests and People Côte d'Ivoire Tropical forests Aboveground biomass Forest degradation Random forest modelling Landscape fragmentation |
| title | Fragmentation is the main driver of residual forest aboveground biomass in West African low forest-high deforestation landscapes |
| title_full | Fragmentation is the main driver of residual forest aboveground biomass in West African low forest-high deforestation landscapes |
| title_fullStr | Fragmentation is the main driver of residual forest aboveground biomass in West African low forest-high deforestation landscapes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fragmentation is the main driver of residual forest aboveground biomass in West African low forest-high deforestation landscapes |
| title_short | Fragmentation is the main driver of residual forest aboveground biomass in West African low forest-high deforestation landscapes |
| title_sort | fragmentation is the main driver of residual forest aboveground biomass in west african low forest high deforestation landscapes |
| topic | Côte d'Ivoire Tropical forests Aboveground biomass Forest degradation Random forest modelling Landscape fragmentation |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666719323001097 |
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