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The Influence of Periodic Fires on the High Guinean Savannas and the Carbon Stock in Cameroun

Received: 28 January 2022     Accepted: 16 February 2022     Published: 25 February 2022
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Abstract

The influence of periodic fires in the high Guinean savannas of Cameroon on woody plants and carbon stock is poorly documented. To fill this gap, work was carried out in the high Guinean savannas of Cameroon with the aim of contributing to the assessment of the effects of periodic fires on the woody cover and the carbon stock. The methodology used consists of carrying out semi-structured household surveys and floristic inventories in the Arrondissement of Ngaoundéré III and Ngan’ha, in the Department of Vina. A total of 50 households were interviewed at a rate of 25 per Borough according to a questionnaire prepared beforehand. For the botanical inventories, 02 types of savannah were selected: regularly burnt savannas (shrub savannas, wooded savannas) and those not burned for at least 10 years (shrub savannas, tree savannas). The choice of control savannas was made according to the indications of the peasants. In each of them, the 1km x 20m transects were covered and the diameter at breast height (dbh) of the woody plants was measured using a dbh meter at 1.3 m from the ground for large trees. and at 30 or 50 cm from the ground for shrubs and shrubs. The results show that climate change is palpable in the area. The rains are increasingly rare, the drought has become severe and the agricultural calendar is no longer respected. The specific diversity has become relatively low with 51 species having been inventoried, divided into 46 genera and 23 families. Savannahs that are not burnt produce more biomass than those that are burnt. The perfect illustration is given by the non-burnt tree savannah of Ngaoundere III with an above-ground and root biomass of 102.23 t/ha and 20.70 t/ha respectively. Annona senegalensis (1.27 tC/ha) is the species contributing massively to carbon sequestration in the high savannas of the Vina. Thus, by acting on the availability of plant biomass, fires contribute to the erosion of biodiversity. Adequate measures are urgently needed to limit bushfires.

Published in American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics (Volume 7, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajere.20220701.13
Page(s) 15-24
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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), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Fires, Woody Cover, Carbon, High Guinean Savannas, Adamaoua, Cameroon

References
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    Pamboundem Ndam Aïchetou, Tchobsala, Mapongmetsem Pierre Marie, Oumarou Zéphirin, Dona Adoum. (2022). The Influence of Periodic Fires on the High Guinean Savannas and the Carbon Stock in Cameroun. American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics, 7(1), 15-24. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajere.20220701.13

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    Pamboundem Ndam Aïchetou; Tchobsala; Mapongmetsem Pierre Marie; Oumarou Zéphirin; Dona Adoum. The Influence of Periodic Fires on the High Guinean Savannas and the Carbon Stock in Cameroun. Am. J. Environ. Resour. Econ. 2022, 7(1), 15-24. doi: 10.11648/j.ajere.20220701.13

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    AMA Style

    Pamboundem Ndam Aïchetou, Tchobsala, Mapongmetsem Pierre Marie, Oumarou Zéphirin, Dona Adoum. The Influence of Periodic Fires on the High Guinean Savannas and the Carbon Stock in Cameroun. Am J Environ Resour Econ. 2022;7(1):15-24. doi: 10.11648/j.ajere.20220701.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajere.20220701.13,
      author = {Pamboundem Ndam Aïchetou and Tchobsala and Mapongmetsem Pierre Marie and Oumarou Zéphirin and Dona Adoum},
      title = {The Influence of Periodic Fires on the High Guinean Savannas and the Carbon Stock in Cameroun},
      journal = {American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics},
      volume = {7},
      number = {1},
      pages = {15-24},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajere.20220701.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajere.20220701.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajere.20220701.13},
      abstract = {The influence of periodic fires in the high Guinean savannas of Cameroon on woody plants and carbon stock is poorly documented. To fill this gap, work was carried out in the high Guinean savannas of Cameroon with the aim of contributing to the assessment of the effects of periodic fires on the woody cover and the carbon stock. The methodology used consists of carrying out semi-structured household surveys and floristic inventories in the Arrondissement of Ngaoundéré III and Ngan’ha, in the Department of Vina. A total of 50 households were interviewed at a rate of 25 per Borough according to a questionnaire prepared beforehand. For the botanical inventories, 02 types of savannah were selected: regularly burnt savannas (shrub savannas, wooded savannas) and those not burned for at least 10 years (shrub savannas, tree savannas). The choice of control savannas was made according to the indications of the peasants. In each of them, the 1km x 20m transects were covered and the diameter at breast height (dbh) of the woody plants was measured using a dbh meter at 1.3 m from the ground for large trees. and at 30 or 50 cm from the ground for shrubs and shrubs. The results show that climate change is palpable in the area. The rains are increasingly rare, the drought has become severe and the agricultural calendar is no longer respected. The specific diversity has become relatively low with 51 species having been inventoried, divided into 46 genera and 23 families. Savannahs that are not burnt produce more biomass than those that are burnt. The perfect illustration is given by the non-burnt tree savannah of Ngaoundere III with an above-ground and root biomass of 102.23 t/ha and 20.70 t/ha respectively. Annona senegalensis (1.27 tC/ha) is the species contributing massively to carbon sequestration in the high savannas of the Vina. Thus, by acting on the availability of plant biomass, fires contribute to the erosion of biodiversity. Adequate measures are urgently needed to limit bushfires.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - The Influence of Periodic Fires on the High Guinean Savannas and the Carbon Stock in Cameroun
    AU  - Pamboundem Ndam Aïchetou
    AU  - Tchobsala
    AU  - Mapongmetsem Pierre Marie
    AU  - Oumarou Zéphirin
    AU  - Dona Adoum
    Y1  - 2022/02/25
    PY  - 2022
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajere.20220701.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajere.20220701.13
    T2  - American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics
    JF  - American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics
    JO  - American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics
    SP  - 15
    EP  - 24
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2578-787X
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajere.20220701.13
    AB  - The influence of periodic fires in the high Guinean savannas of Cameroon on woody plants and carbon stock is poorly documented. To fill this gap, work was carried out in the high Guinean savannas of Cameroon with the aim of contributing to the assessment of the effects of periodic fires on the woody cover and the carbon stock. The methodology used consists of carrying out semi-structured household surveys and floristic inventories in the Arrondissement of Ngaoundéré III and Ngan’ha, in the Department of Vina. A total of 50 households were interviewed at a rate of 25 per Borough according to a questionnaire prepared beforehand. For the botanical inventories, 02 types of savannah were selected: regularly burnt savannas (shrub savannas, wooded savannas) and those not burned for at least 10 years (shrub savannas, tree savannas). The choice of control savannas was made according to the indications of the peasants. In each of them, the 1km x 20m transects were covered and the diameter at breast height (dbh) of the woody plants was measured using a dbh meter at 1.3 m from the ground for large trees. and at 30 or 50 cm from the ground for shrubs and shrubs. The results show that climate change is palpable in the area. The rains are increasingly rare, the drought has become severe and the agricultural calendar is no longer respected. The specific diversity has become relatively low with 51 species having been inventoried, divided into 46 genera and 23 families. Savannahs that are not burnt produce more biomass than those that are burnt. The perfect illustration is given by the non-burnt tree savannah of Ngaoundere III with an above-ground and root biomass of 102.23 t/ha and 20.70 t/ha respectively. Annona senegalensis (1.27 tC/ha) is the species contributing massively to carbon sequestration in the high savannas of the Vina. Thus, by acting on the availability of plant biomass, fires contribute to the erosion of biodiversity. Adequate measures are urgently needed to limit bushfires.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Biological Sciences, University of Ngaoundéré, Ngaoundere, Cameroon

  • Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maroua, Maroua, Cameroon

  • Department of Biological Sciences, University of Ngaoundéré, Ngaoundere, Cameroon

  • Department of Biological Sciences, University of Ngaoundéré, Ngaoundere, Cameroon

  • Department of Biological Sciences, University of Ngaoundéré, Ngaoundere, Cameroon

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