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On-Farm Tree Abundance and Biomass Carbon Stocks of Grevillea robusta and Eucalyptus saligna on Farms Around Kakamega Forest

Received: 18 July 2019     Accepted: 14 August 2019     Published: 26 August 2019
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Abstract

The integration of trees on farmlands has recently received attention due to their contribution to livelihoods improvement and climate change mitigation. They provide ecosystem services (ESs) like climate change mitigation, improvement of soil fertility, provision of timber and fuelwood among others. The choice of trees to plant depends on the role the farmer intends to put them into and the size of the farm. The trees can either be indigenous or exotic andare mostly planted along farm boundaries, in home gardens, as woodlots orientation among others. This study was conducted in western part of Kenya on farmlands that mostly border the Kakamega Forest. The study soughtto determine abundance, distribution and biomass carbon stocks of Grevillea robusta and Eucalyptus saligna for enhanced climate change mitigation. A total of (N=3,468) trees were inventoried in 80 farms with a total of 27.5ha. The average size of farms where the survey was done was about 1.28±1.01 ha. Eucalyptus saligna had a tree abundance 1133 (33%) of the total trees sampled while Grevillea robusta had 2,335 (67%). Two sites were purposively selected (Lubao and Tea zone area). In the Lubao site, Eucalyptus saligna abundance was 627 (29%) while Grevillea robusta abundance was 1565 (71%) of the total trees sampled. In Tea Zone site, Eucalyptus saligna abundance was 506 (40%) while Grevillea robusta tree abundance was 770 (60%). Total biomass estimated in the study area was 3.86±0.21Mgha-1(1.96Mg C ha-1). This was distributed as aboveground biomass (2.8±0.12Mgha-1) and belowground biomass (0.87±0.41Mgha-1). There was no significant difference in biomass among farms in Lubao (F=43.12; p=0.34) and in Tea zone sites (F=53.12; p=0.23). Lubao site had an estimated biomass of 1.97±0.023Mgha-1 distributed as above ground biomass (1.31±0.043Mgha-1) and below ground biomass (0.67±0.023Mgha-1). Tea zone site had an estimated biomass of 1.99±0.38Mgha-1. This was distributed as above ground biomass (1.58±0.023Mgha-1) and below ground biomass (0.40±0.18Mgha-1). Biomass was significantly different among the agroforestry practices in Lubao (F=13.1; p=0.002) and in Tea Zone (F=29.12; p=0.001). Hedgerow had the highest biomass among the agroforestry practices in Lubao (1.91±0.16Mgha-1) and in Tea zone sites (1.7±0.23Mgha-1). Alley cropping that was only practiced in Lubao had the least biomass (0.0044±0.009Mgha-1). The twotree species provided benefits for household use and at the same time for monetarysale. Firewood and timber were the most mentioned (n=80). This was followed by construction material and fencing material. These functions/uses were most preferred by the Eucalyptus grandis.

Published in American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry (Volume 7, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajaf.20190705.11
Page(s) 162-167
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Biomass, Tree Abundance, Climate Change, Livelihoods

References
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[3] Zomer, R. J., Neufeldt, H., Xu, J., Ahrends, A., Bossio, D., Trabucco, A., Noordwijk, M. &Mingcheng Wang, M. (2016). Global Tree Cover and Biomass Carbon on Agricultural Land: The contribution of agroforestry to global and national carbon budgets. Scientific Reports|6: 29987|DOI:10.1038/srep29987.
[4] Zomer, R. J., Trabucco, A., Coe, R., Place, F., van-Noordwijk M, Xu JC. (2014). Trees on farms: an update and reanalysis of Agroforestry’s global extent and socio-ecological characteristics. Working Paper 179. Bogor: World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) Southeast Asia Regional Program. 33p.
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[7] Kuyah S, Dietz J, Muthuri C et al (2012) Allometric equations for estimating biomass in agricultural landscapes: I. Aboveground biomass. Agriculture Ecosystem and Environment 158: 216-224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2012.05.011.
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[10] de Foresta H, Somarriba E, Temu A, Boulanger D, Feuilly H, Gauthier M (2013) Towards the Assessment of Trees Outside Forests. Resources Assessment Working Paper 183. FAO Rome.
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[13] Tsingalia, H. M. (2009). Habitat destruction and severity patterns of abundance in Kakamega Forest, Western Kenya. African Journal of ecology 28: 213-226.
[14] Henry M, Tittonell P, Manlay RJ et al (2009) Biodiversity, carbon stocks and sequestration potential in aboveground biomass in smallholder farming systems of western Kenya. Agriculture Ecosystem and Environment 129: 238-252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2008.09.006.
[15] Kuyah S, Rosenstock TS (2015) Optimal measurement strategies for aboveground tree biomass in agricultural landscapes. Agroforestry Systems 89: 125–133. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-014-9747-9.
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    Agevi Humphrey, Tsingalia Harrison, Muyekho Francis, Obiri John, Mukoya Wingred, et al. (2019). On-Farm Tree Abundance and Biomass Carbon Stocks of Grevillea robusta and Eucalyptus saligna on Farms Around Kakamega Forest. American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, 7(5), 162-167. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20190705.11

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    Agevi Humphrey; Tsingalia Harrison; Muyekho Francis; Obiri John; Mukoya Wingred, et al. On-Farm Tree Abundance and Biomass Carbon Stocks of Grevillea robusta and Eucalyptus saligna on Farms Around Kakamega Forest. Am. J. Agric. For. 2019, 7(5), 162-167. doi: 10.11648/j.ajaf.20190705.11

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    Agevi Humphrey, Tsingalia Harrison, Muyekho Francis, Obiri John, Mukoya Wingred, et al. On-Farm Tree Abundance and Biomass Carbon Stocks of Grevillea robusta and Eucalyptus saligna on Farms Around Kakamega Forest. Am J Agric For. 2019;7(5):162-167. doi: 10.11648/j.ajaf.20190705.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajaf.20190705.11,
      author = {Agevi Humphrey and Tsingalia Harrison and Muyekho Francis and Obiri John and Mukoya Wingred and Onwonga Richard},
      title = {On-Farm Tree Abundance and Biomass Carbon Stocks of Grevillea robusta and Eucalyptus saligna on Farms Around Kakamega Forest},
      journal = {American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry},
      volume = {7},
      number = {5},
      pages = {162-167},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajaf.20190705.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20190705.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajaf.20190705.11},
      abstract = {The integration of trees on farmlands has recently received attention due to their contribution to livelihoods improvement and climate change mitigation. They provide ecosystem services (ESs) like climate change mitigation, improvement of soil fertility, provision of timber and fuelwood among others. The choice of trees to plant depends on the role the farmer intends to put them into and the size of the farm. The trees can either be indigenous or exotic andare mostly planted along farm boundaries, in home gardens, as woodlots orientation among others. This study was conducted in western part of Kenya on farmlands that mostly border the Kakamega Forest. The study soughtto determine abundance, distribution and biomass carbon stocks of Grevillea robusta and Eucalyptus saligna for enhanced climate change mitigation. A total of (N=3,468) trees were inventoried in 80 farms with a total of 27.5ha. The average size of farms where the survey was done was about 1.28±1.01 ha. Eucalyptus saligna had a tree abundance 1133 (33%) of the total trees sampled while Grevillea robusta had 2,335 (67%). Two sites were purposively selected (Lubao and Tea zone area). In the Lubao site, Eucalyptus saligna abundance was 627 (29%) while Grevillea robusta abundance was 1565 (71%) of the total trees sampled. In Tea Zone site, Eucalyptus saligna abundance was 506 (40%) while Grevillea robusta tree abundance was 770 (60%). Total biomass estimated in the study area was 3.86±0.21Mgha-1(1.96Mg C ha-1). This was distributed as aboveground biomass (2.8±0.12Mgha-1) and belowground biomass (0.87±0.41Mgha-1). There was no significant difference in biomass among farms in Lubao (F=43.12; p=0.34) and in Tea zone sites (F=53.12; p=0.23). Lubao site had an estimated biomass of 1.97±0.023Mgha-1 distributed as above ground biomass (1.31±0.043Mgha-1) and below ground biomass (0.67±0.023Mgha-1). Tea zone site had an estimated biomass of 1.99±0.38Mgha-1. This was distributed as above ground biomass (1.58±0.023Mgha-1) and below ground biomass (0.40±0.18Mgha-1). Biomass was significantly different among the agroforestry practices in Lubao (F=13.1; p=0.002) and in Tea Zone (F=29.12; p=0.001). Hedgerow had the highest biomass among the agroforestry practices in Lubao (1.91±0.16Mgha-1) and in Tea zone sites (1.7±0.23Mgha-1). Alley cropping that was only practiced in Lubao had the least biomass (0.0044±0.009Mgha-1). The twotree species provided benefits for household use and at the same time for monetarysale. Firewood and timber were the most mentioned (n=80). This was followed by construction material and fencing material. These functions/uses were most preferred by the Eucalyptus grandis.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - On-Farm Tree Abundance and Biomass Carbon Stocks of Grevillea robusta and Eucalyptus saligna on Farms Around Kakamega Forest
    AU  - Agevi Humphrey
    AU  - Tsingalia Harrison
    AU  - Muyekho Francis
    AU  - Obiri John
    AU  - Mukoya Wingred
    AU  - Onwonga Richard
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    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20190705.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajaf.20190705.11
    T2  - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry
    JF  - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry
    JO  - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry
    SP  - 162
    EP  - 167
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-8591
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20190705.11
    AB  - The integration of trees on farmlands has recently received attention due to their contribution to livelihoods improvement and climate change mitigation. They provide ecosystem services (ESs) like climate change mitigation, improvement of soil fertility, provision of timber and fuelwood among others. The choice of trees to plant depends on the role the farmer intends to put them into and the size of the farm. The trees can either be indigenous or exotic andare mostly planted along farm boundaries, in home gardens, as woodlots orientation among others. This study was conducted in western part of Kenya on farmlands that mostly border the Kakamega Forest. The study soughtto determine abundance, distribution and biomass carbon stocks of Grevillea robusta and Eucalyptus saligna for enhanced climate change mitigation. A total of (N=3,468) trees were inventoried in 80 farms with a total of 27.5ha. The average size of farms where the survey was done was about 1.28±1.01 ha. Eucalyptus saligna had a tree abundance 1133 (33%) of the total trees sampled while Grevillea robusta had 2,335 (67%). Two sites were purposively selected (Lubao and Tea zone area). In the Lubao site, Eucalyptus saligna abundance was 627 (29%) while Grevillea robusta abundance was 1565 (71%) of the total trees sampled. In Tea Zone site, Eucalyptus saligna abundance was 506 (40%) while Grevillea robusta tree abundance was 770 (60%). Total biomass estimated in the study area was 3.86±0.21Mgha-1(1.96Mg C ha-1). This was distributed as aboveground biomass (2.8±0.12Mgha-1) and belowground biomass (0.87±0.41Mgha-1). There was no significant difference in biomass among farms in Lubao (F=43.12; p=0.34) and in Tea zone sites (F=53.12; p=0.23). Lubao site had an estimated biomass of 1.97±0.023Mgha-1 distributed as above ground biomass (1.31±0.043Mgha-1) and below ground biomass (0.67±0.023Mgha-1). Tea zone site had an estimated biomass of 1.99±0.38Mgha-1. This was distributed as above ground biomass (1.58±0.023Mgha-1) and below ground biomass (0.40±0.18Mgha-1). Biomass was significantly different among the agroforestry practices in Lubao (F=13.1; p=0.002) and in Tea Zone (F=29.12; p=0.001). Hedgerow had the highest biomass among the agroforestry practices in Lubao (1.91±0.16Mgha-1) and in Tea zone sites (1.7±0.23Mgha-1). Alley cropping that was only practiced in Lubao had the least biomass (0.0044±0.009Mgha-1). The twotree species provided benefits for household use and at the same time for monetarysale. Firewood and timber were the most mentioned (n=80). This was followed by construction material and fencing material. These functions/uses were most preferred by the Eucalyptus grandis.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 5
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Biological Sciences, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya

  • Department of Biological Sciences, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, Kisumu, Kenya

  • School of Agriculture and Veterinary Technology (SAVET), Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kakamega, Kenya

  • Department of Disaster Mitigation and Sustainable Development, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kakamega, Kenya

  • Department of Geography, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kakamega, Kenya

  • Department of Land Resources Mapping and Agricultural Technology, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya

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