GIS-assisted Carbon Stock Assessment of Loboc- Bilar Mahogany Plantation, Bohol, Philippines

The study determined the carbon budget of the Loboc-Bilar Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King.) Plantation in the province of Bohol, Philippines within the months of June to October 2018. The plantation straddles two municipalities, Loboc and Bilar. It is a popular destination for local and international tourists due to its compellingtunnel-like vegetative scenery. Delineation of the plantation boundary was fine-tunedusing both image digitization and ground survey. A random sampling method was applied in conjunction with Geographic Information System (GIS) software to spatially distribute sampling plots in the research area. Several carbon pools were assessed, namely: aboveground biomass, necromass or ground biomass, and belowground biomass. Allometric and other mathematical equations were used in the calculation of biomass density, stored carbon and carbon dioxide equivalents. The plantation had 29,428.03 Mg of stored carbon in the biomass distributed over a total land area of 115.21 ha, yielding an estimated stored carbon density of 255.43 Mg ha-1. The monetized value of stored carbon in the whole plantation amounted to US$486,003.96.