Title : Impact of cashew growing on vegetation and carbon stock in Northern Cote d'Ivorie
Abstract:
Intensive agriculture combined with climate change issues causes considerable degradation of natural ecosystems. Therefore, to ensure their protection, it is necessary to find a system that combines environmental protection and carbon sequestration. Thus, the general objective of our study is to understand the role of cashew plantations (Anacardium occidentale L., Anacardiaceae) in landscape change and climate change in northern Côte d'Ivoire. To do this, a synchronic approach was adopted to study the vegetation structure and carbon stock of plantations of different ages. The results showed that the diametric distributions of clear forests and plantations over 10 years old are bell-shaped. The distribution of individual heights for these two ecosystems is inverted J-shaped. Measurements of basal area, biomass and carbon stock are statistically equal for open forests and plantations older than 10 years. Plantations over 10 years old manage to recover and even exceed the carbon stock lost after the clear forest has been cut. The study showed that cashew plantations, in addition to being a cash crop, can play an important role in climate change mitigation. The study also provided evidence that perennial crop plantations need to be considered in the REDD+ process as part of the global effort to address climate variability and change.
Keywords: Cashew, planting, climate change, Ivory Coast
