Effects of wealth status on home-garden’s biomass and soil carbon stocks: The case of midland kebeles of Ofa district, Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia
Keywords:
carbon stocks, climate change mitigation, home garden, wealth status, woody speciesAbstract
Abstract
Home garden agroforestry has been practiced in various parts of the tropics, and is known to provide a wider ecosystem services for smallholder farmers. Several studies have been conducted on the biodiversity and socio-economic importance of home garden agroforestry in different parts of Ethiopia, however, empirical studies are limited on home garden's carbon stocks storage in reference to socioeconomic factors. The objective of this study was, therefore, to identify the effects of household’s wealth status on the home garden's biomass and soil organic carbon stocks at midland kebeles of Ofa district, Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Three kebeles were purposively selected from the district based on the existence and extensive practice of home garden agroforestry. A total of 73 sample plots with 10m×10m were established on home gardens of randomly selected households across wealth classes, representing 14 for rich, 27 for medium, and 32 for poor. In each main plot, all woody species above 2.5 cm dbh were inventoried. Also, three nested 1m×1m subplots were used to collect litter and soil samples. Already developed allometric equations were used for estimation of above and belowground biomass. A total of 146 soil samples for soil physicochemical analysis, and the same size samples were collected separately for bulk density determination, and 73 samples for litter. The mean total carbon stocks (biomass plus soil, 0-60cm) was significantly higher in home gardens of the rich and medium households (respectively 232 ± 22 Mg C ha-1 and 207±19Mg C ha-1) than poor households (130 ± 13 Mg C ha-1). The soil organic carbon (SOC) accounted for 68%, 71% and 82% of the total carbon stock in rich, medium and poor households’ home gardens. SOC stock was positively correlated (Spearman R2=0.65) with total biomass carbon stock. This study revealed that wealth status of households affects carbon stocks in home garden agroforestry in Southern Ethiopia.
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