TITLE:
Measuring Carbon Stocks in Regrowing Forest Plots of Different Ages Following Slash-and-Burn Agriculture
AUTHORS:
Louis-Junior M.M. Beni, David P. Edwards, Honoré K. Belesi
KEYWORDS:
Carbon Sequestration, Tropical Forest Regeneration, Slash-and-Burn Agriculture, Chronosequence, Aboveground Biomass, Allometric Models, Congo Basin, Community Forest Management and REDD+
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Forestry,
Vol.16 No.3,
June
2,
2026
ABSTRACT: Accurate quantification of carbon sequestration in regenerating tropical forests is critical for climate change mitigation and forest management strategies, particularly in understudied regions like Central Africa. This study measured aboveground carbon stocks, forest structure, and tree species diversity across a chronosequence of fallows (>10 years since abandonment) following slash-and-burn agriculture in the Mbali River Community Forest Concession, Democratic Republic of Congo. Twenty plots (50 × 50 m) were established, with tree diameter at breast height (DBH) and height measured for all individuals ≥10 cm DBH. Aboveground biomass (AGB) was estimated using published allometric models and converted to carbon stocks using a standard factor (0.47). The results reveal structural indicators of active regeneration, including a reverse-J diameter distribution and a right-skewed height distribution, with high stem density in smaller size classes. While DBH strongly predicted AGB across four allometric models (R2 = 0.81 - 0.84), fallow age exhibited a negligible relationship with carbon accumulation (R2 = 0.01 - 0.09), explaining less than 10% of AGB variability. This indicates that time since abandonment is a poor proxy for carbon stock recovery in this landscape, where site-specific factors and residual trees likely play a more significant role. The findings underscore the necessity of direct forest inventory measurements over age-based assumptions for reliable carbon accounting in REDD+ and payment for ecosystem services schemes. Supporting community-based management of these regenerating fallows can simultaneously enhance carbon storage and biodiversity conservation in the Congo Basin.