Aboveground biomass, carbon storage and fuel values of bambusa vulgaris, oxynanteria abbyssinica and bambusa vulgaris var.vitata plantations in the bobiri forest reserve of Ghana

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the recommended species of bamboo culms to be harvested for the production of charcoal. The objectives of the study were; first, to compare the stand distribution of Bambusa vulgaris, Oxynanteria abbyssinica and Bambusa vulgaris var. vitata; second, to estimate the aboveground biomass and carbon storage in different components of the bamboo species; third, to develop allometric models that can be used to estimate the aboveground biomass of the bamboo species and fourth, to compare the fuel values of carbonized bamboo species grown in the Bobiri Forest Reserve. Culms were classified and counted according to their ages in five 0.01ha (10m×10m) sub-plots. Weights of components of all 45 samples were taken. The total biomass and carbon storage were determined. The stand density for B. vulgaris, B. vulgaris var. vitata and Oxynanteria abbyssinica was 7071, 6267 and 3325 culmsha-1 , respectively. The aboveground biomass stored in B. vulgaris (115t ha-1 ) was 61% higher than in B. vulgaris var. vitata (71t ha-1 ) and was 27-fold that of Oxynanteria abbyssinica. The carbon storage in B. vulgaris standing in aboveground biomass was 50.76ha-1 which is 15%, 24%, 44%, 71% and 2.5% more than that of logged forest, unlogged forest intact swamp forest, degraded forest and deforested areas, respectively, in Ghana. The diameter at breast height of the bamboo culm predicted the aboveground biomass well with the R2 values in the range 0.596 – 0.998. The gross calorific values of the raw culms were in the range of 16.22MJkg-1 to 17.23MJkg-1 and were comparable to the heating values of most grasses and straws, tropical and sub-tropical tree species. Carbonized bamboo was 27%-557% higher in energy intensity than the raw bamboo. Intensification of bamboo plantation and utilization in Ghana therefore could potentially contribute substantially to carbon mitigation and sustainable energy production.