Species Composition and Carbon Stock in Different Agroforestry Practices in the mid-hills of Nepal

Abstract

ABSTRACT Farmers are adopting different agroforestry practices, but comparative studies between the practices based on ecosystem functions are often ignored. We assessed species composition and carbon stock in two different agroforestry practices (traditional and improved) adopted in the mid-hills of Nepal. We found higher species richness and dominancy of Citrus synenssis (fruit species) in the improved practice, whereas we found higher species evenness, diversity, and dominance of Ficus clavata (fodder species) in the traditional practice. 0.35 of the similarity index between the two practices indicated that there was 65% difference in species number between the two practices. The improved practice had larger trees with higher frequency compared to traditional practice. The carbon inventory reflected that the total carbon stock between the two practices was insignificant, whereas the total biomass carbon was significantly higher in the improved practice than in the traditional practice. Therefore, improvement in traditional practices has the potential to increase biomass and sequester more carbon within the same unit of land. However, maintaining species diversity is a concern in the improved practice. We suggest policymakers and concerned stakeholders for prioritizing improved agroforestry practice and maintain species diversity while designing strategies for agroforestry promotion and climate change mitigation.