Influence of climate and forest attributes on aboveground carbon storage in Burkina Faso, West Africa

Abstract West African ecosystems play an important role in offsetting carbon inputs and climate change impacts. However, whereas the role of these ecosystems in carbon sequestration has been investigated, there is a paucity in the literature regarding the spatial variation and the drivers of carbon storage in tree aboveground biomass (AGB). This study aimed to analyze the spatial patterns and the drivers of carbon storage in tree AGB in Burkina Faso. We related aboveground carbon density to five structural attributes, three diversity attributes and two climatic variables, using field measurements of 4575 shrubs and trees across four protected areas and two climatic zones. The analysis of variance showed no significant variation of carbon density between the four forests. Yet, carbon density increased significantly from the sudano-sahelian zone to the sudanian zone. The mean carbon density ranged between 47.82 – 67.95 MgC ha−1 across forest sites, and between 48.48 – 64.02 MgC ha−1 across climatic zones. Carbon density was positively correlated with mean annual precipitation (MAP), stand basal area, tree diameter at breast height (DBH), tree height and tree cover, but negatively correlated with mean annual temperature (MAT). Structural attributes explained 13.49–72.61% of carbon storage variation, whereas climate explained 2.62–3.35% of carbon variation. Stand basal area (69.52%) and tree height (27.77%) explained the highest carbon variation. MAP and MAT significantly influenced tree mean DBH and height. This study showed that carbon density in the sudanian region of West Africa is driven by stand structure and climatic variables which directly influence the dendrometric parameters. These findings underscore the fact that drastic changes in climatic conditions in West African region may influence stand structure, and thereby, carbon storage in tree AGB.