Relationship between deadwood structural diversity and carbon stock along environmental and disturbance gradients in Tropical dry forests
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.2478/foecol-2025-0001Keywords:
deadwood carbon, deadwood species composition, diversity, NAFORMA - TanzaniaAbstract
Deadwood is a substantial component of forest ecosystems playing a vital role in maintaining ecosystem health and functioning. However, there is limited information on deadwood stand structure which encompasses attributes such as type, quantities and distribution of deadwood pieces and how it is related to its biomass. This study examined the relationship between deadwood species structural diversity and carbon stock along different environmental and disturbance factors in forest and woodland ecosystems. An agglomerative hierarchical clustering analysis was used to identify species communities, followed by indicator species analysis which was done to determine the species significantly associated with each community. Species richness, evenness and Shannon-Wiener diversity index were calculated to determine deadwood species diversity in both ecosystems. Multimodel inference approach was used to analyse the relationship between deadwood carbon stock and diversity indices, soil properties, climate and proximity to roads and settlements. Three communities were identified from forest ecosystems while four communities were from woodland. Multimodel analysis found a positive significant relationship between deadwood carbon stock and species abundance, Shannon-Wiener diversity, soil moisture and proximity to roads in both ecosystems. These findings provide insights into conservation strategies that prioritize protection and restoration of ecosystems as carbon reservois.
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