MAPPING CARBON STOCKS IN THE DIMAKO COMMUNAL FOREST, EAST-CAMEROON

In the global context of global warming, Cameroon's forests have a major role to play in mitigating climate change. The objectives of this study were to assess and spatialize carbon stocks in different types of land use/land cover types. To achieve these objectives, an approach based on the diachronic analysis of satellite images and the inventory of woody plants with a diameter greater than or equal to 10 cm in plots of 250 m x 20 m were carried out. The results show a 22.94% decrease in the area of mature forests and an 8.39% increase in the area of young forests in 2015. Results from field surveys show that carbon stocks vary from stratum to stratum and pool to pool. Stored carbon is higher in mature forests (133.52 tC/ha) and low in swamps (6.71 tC/ha). The aboveground compartment stores more carbon (224, 88 tC/ ha) followed by the belowground compartment (42.88 tC/ ha) and finally dead standing wood (2.59 tC/ ha). The mapping provided more account for the spatial variability of carbon stocks between land use/land cover types, providing arguments for fully meeting REDD+ targets.