Africa.Soil International Journal of Silviculture and Agroforestry (IJSA), ISSN: 1720-349X, Vol. 4(1), pp. 102-116, March, 2021. © Advanced Scholars  Journals

Full length Research paper

Refining the assesment of C pools under eco-managed multi-layered agroforests (cropping in Plates under Green Mat): "the multi-criteria approach by ecological compartments"

Pyame MLD¹ *, Mukandama N Jean-Pierre¹and Baert G²

^*1Faculté de Gestion de Ressources Renouvelables, Université de Kisangani, BP 2012, Kisangani, RD Congo.

²University of Gand, Belgium

*Correspondingauthor’sEmail:[email protected] 

Accepted 9^th Febuary , 2021

Abstract 

An experiment was carried out in Kisangani (DR Congo) aiming to set up the modalities of a multi-criteria assesment of C applying to peasant fields and toeco-managed multi-layered agroforests. This by comparing "Green Mat"agroforestsystem with the Slash-and-Burn fallows aiming to C stocks and sinks. A device in 5 complete randomized blocks divided into 2 plots each, was chosen to test the “production system” factor (unifactorial ANOVA x Duncan's test). It emerges from this study the following capital points:

ü   Under complex agro-forest, five new pools, in addition to the tree stratum (18.1%) traditionally admitted in forest C inventories, namely (1) the organomineral soil (46.5%), (2) the litter-mulch ( 11.5%), (3) the organic soil layer generated under litter (5.4%), (4) the herbaceous layer (12.9%) and (5) the composts produced in situ (5.6%), would be of comparable interest as stock (100%) and sink of C, imposing a multi-criteria assessment approach.

ü   The gradual integration of these 5 carbon compartments in the calculation of agroecosystem's C stock / sink will make it possible to avoid current underestimations and improve, depending on the case, up to  90% of the values found, particularly in eco-managed peasant farms and multi-layered agroforests.

Key words : Green mat,  Agrocology, Multi-criteria assesment, multi-layered agroforests, C sink, C stock