West African Sahelian cities as source of carbon stocks Evidence from Niger

Abstract

The need for sustainable cities under a changing climate calls for intensive research on the role of urban forests in climate change mitigation. This study estimated the carbon stocks and carbon emission factors in Niamey and Maradi. Stratified random sampling approach was used for the urban forests inventory. Biomass was estimated using the generalized model. Stock-difference method was used for the carbon emission factor. Focusing on woody plants with a diameter at breast height > 5 cm, 2,027 stems (78 species) were measured in Niamey and 2,456 stems (90 species) were measured in Maradi. The mean carbon stock was 31.63 (15.63, 47.64) in Niamey and 58.30 (13.10, 103.50) t/ha in Maradi. The mean carbon stock was significantly different in each city (p < 0.05) across land use types. The results show that the conversion of peri-urban forests into the urban forest in any of the land use types is associated with carbon gain. This study illustrated the potential benefits of accounting for urban forest carbon stocks within Sahel cities under rapid urbanization. This study recommends that the urban forest carbon stocks should be included in climate change mitigation in Niger.