Final Corrected Binyam Msc Thesis
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CARBON STOCK POTENTIALS OF WOODLANDS AND LAND USE AND LAND COVER CHANGES IN NORTH WESTERN LOWLANDS OF ETHIOPIA MSc. THESIS BINYAM ALEMU YOSEF HAWASSA UNIVERSITY, WONDO GENET COLLEGE OF FORESTRY AND NATURAL RESOURCES, WONDO GENET, ETHIOPIA OCTOBER, 2012 CARBON STOCK POTENTIALS OF WOODLANDS AND LAND USE AND LAND COVER CHANGES IN NORTH WESTERN LOWLANDS OF ETHIOPIA BINYAM ALEMU YOSEF A THESIS SUBMITTED TO SCHOOL OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, WONDO GENET COLLEGE OF FORESTRY AND NATURAL RESOURCES HAWASSA UNIVERSITY WONDO GENET, ETHIOPIA IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INTEGRATED WATERSHED MANAGEMENT OCTOBER, 2012 Approval Sheet 1 This is to certify that the thesis entitled “ Carbon Stock Potentials of Woodlands and Land Use and Land Cover Changes in North Western Lowlands of Ethiopia” submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Sciences with specialization in Integrated Watershed Management of the Graduate Program of the School of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies , Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources, is a record of original research carried out by Binyam Alemu Yosef Id. N o. MSC/IWM/033/10 , under my supervision; and no part of the thesis has been submitted for any other degree or diploma. The assistance and help received during the courses of this investigation have been duly acknowledged. Therefore I recommended that it be accepted as fulfilling the thesis requirement. Dr.Zewdu Eshetu Name of major advisor Signature Date OR Dr. Efrem Garedew Name of co-advisor Signature Date Approval Sheet 2 We, the undersigned, members of the Board of examiners of the final open defense by Binyam Alemu have read and evaluated his thesis entitled “Carbon Stock Potentials of Woodlands and Land Use and Land Cover Changes in North Western Lowlands of Ethiopia ” and examined the candidate. This is therefore to certify that the thesis has been accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Dr. Melaku B. Name of the Chairperson Signature Date Dr. Zewdu E. Name of Major Advisor Signature Date Dr. Tsegaye B. Name of Internal Examiner Signature Date Dr. Tesfaye B. Name of External Examiner Signature Date Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere thanks to my main supervisors Dr. Zewdu Eshetu, Addis Ababa University, (AAU) for his regular support, gentleness, keen support and close follow up while I am conducting this research from the very beginning of the development of research proposal to the accomplishment of the report. I would also like to acknowledge my co-supervisor Dr. Efrem Garedew, Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources (WGCF and NRs), for his critical comments and ideas with inclusive support in the structure and arrangement of the thesis work at various levels. My special thanks go to Ato Zewdu Yilma and Temesgen Yohannes (FRC, Addis Ababa) for their technical advice and teaching during the field data collection and Ato Ayenachew Dagnie for his nice drive to several field sites. I would like also to thank Kafta-Humer, Metema and Sherkole districts Office of Agriculture for the permission to work in the field. I am grateful to Natural Gum Processing and Marketing Enterprise (NGPME) for its interest in my work and providing valuable data sets relevant for this research. I also acknowledge the support of Forestry Research Centre (FRC) and National Soil Laboratory for determining soil bulk density and soil carbon content, respectively. I also thank Mr. Tezera and Mulye for their assistance in providing and interpreting the GIS and satellite images, that are valuable components of this thesis. The financial support for this research is obtained from Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR); and the scientific critique I obtained from Dr. Habtemariam Kassa is highly appreciated. I am very grateful to Wollo University for providing me MSc scholarship to study in Hawassa University. Finally, my special deepest gratitude goes to my mother and my family for their inspiration, love and support throughout my life. i Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................. i Dedication ............................................................................................................................. vi List of Tables ....................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... viii List of Tables in Appendices ................................................................................................ ix List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................. x Abstract ................................................................................................................................. xi 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Background ............................................................................................................. 1 1.2. Statement of the Problem ........................................................................................ 3 1.3. Significance of the Study ........................................................................................ 4 1.4. Objective ................................................................................................................. 5 1.4.1. General Objective ............................................................................................. 5 1.4.2. Specific Objective ............................................................................................. 5 1.5. Research Questions ................................................................................................. 6 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................. 7 2.1. Carbon Stock Pools ................................................................................................. 7 2.1.1. Aboveground Biomass Carbon Stock ............................................................... 7 2.1.2. Root Biomass Carbon Stock ............................................................................. 9 2.1.3. Dead Wood Biomass Carbon Stock.................................................................. 9 2.1.4. Litter Carbon Stock ......................................................................................... 10 2.1.5. Soil Carbon Stock ........................................................................................... 11 2.2. The Role of Forest Carbon Stock on Climate Change Mitigation ........................ 12 2.3. Gum and Resin Production in Ethiopia ................................................................ 14 ii 2.4. Land Use and Land Covers Change Analysis ...................................................... 15 2.4.1. Image Classification ....................................................................................... 16 2.4.1.1. Unsupervised Classification ..................................................................... 16 2.4.1.2. Supervised Classification .......................................................................... 16 2.4.2. Change Detection Methods ............................................................................. 17 2.5. Trading Carbon Credits and its Potential to Improve Livelihoods ....................... 17 3. MATERIALS AND METHODS .................................................................................... 19 3.1. Study Areas Description ....................................................................................... 19 3.1.1. Kafta Humera District ..................................................................................... 19 3.1.2. Metema District .............................................................................................. 21 3.1.3. Sherkole District ............................................................................................. 22 3.2. Sampling and Data Collection Methods ............................................................... 23 3.2.1. Study Site Selection ........................................................................................ 23 3.2.2. Tree Sampling ................................................................................................. 25 3.2.3. Dead Wood Sampling ..................................................................................... 25 3.2.4. Herb, Litter and Crop Biomass Sampling ....................................................... 25 3.2.5. Soil Sampling .................................................................................................. 26 3.3. Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 27 3.3.1. Carbon Stock Estimation ................................................................................ 27 3.3.1.1. Aboveground and Belowground Biomass ................................................ 27 3.3.1.2. Dead Wood Biomass ................................................................................ 28 3.3.1.3. Herb, Litter, Annual Crop and Crop Root