Projects
FORETSwood
Capacity Building for Forest Management in the Yangambi landscape
Tropical forests provide important ecosystem services on local and global scales. They are not only characterised by an exceptional diversity of life but also contain substantial stocks of carbon. Tropical forests buffer climate change and produce raw material for local communities and international trade. The carbon amounts in rainforests rise up to 460 billion tonnes in biomass and soil (Pan et al. 2011), more than half of the total atmospheric stock. Rainforests acted as long-term net carbon sinks over the last four decades (Lewis et al. 2009, Brienen et al. 2015). Recent analysis of global carbon budgets suggests that the flux of atmospheric carbon into mature tropical forests is greater than in any other terrestrial biome (Sarmiento et al. 2010).
The largest part of forest biomass consists of wood. The above ground woody biomass of a forest ecosystem rises up to 98 % (Malhi et al. 1999). Tropical rainforests contain more wood in their living biomass compared to other biomes. Wood tissue controls therefore a substantial part of the forest structure and functions. Accordingly, wood research is essential for an exploration of the fluxes to, from and within a forest stand, including for the carbon sequestration processes. Wood science, including the study of structure and function of trees, requires specific knowledge and skills. These need to be substantially strengthened to underpin academic and development projects in the rainforest belt of the DRC.
The public concern for the fate of tropical forests resulted in the creation of a number of mechanisms assuring forests to sustainably produce valuable goods and services. These mechanisms need all input from wood science. The REDD+ mechanism of the United Nations, aiming at the reduction of carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, requires information on tree growth and turnover. The CITES convention regulates the international trade of endangered species, including important tropical timbers like Pericopsis elata. The enforcement of this convention entails wood identification which is typically done through wood anatomy. Next to REDD+ and CITES, other instruments have been established to conserve and manage tropical forests, their species and populations: like there are national forest laws, the FLEGT mechanism, the timber regulation of the European Union, the Lacey Act and a number of forest and timber certification systems. Tools from the domain of wood science provide key information to make these instruments operational. Indeed, the authenticity of the material can be verified through wood anatomical identification, the carbon sequestration processes can be evaluated by retrospective growth analysis, models on carbon stocks can be refined with high-resolution information on wood density.
Present forest composition is the result of vegetation succession processes after forest disturbance. Many of these disturbance events leave charcoal layers in the forest soil which can be radiocarbon dated and botanically identified. This offers an additional scientifically appealing opportunity for wood anatomical investigations in a paleoecological and archaeobotanical context.
Activities aim to contribute to a better protection and a better valorisation of the biodiversity of the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve and its neighbouring landscape, and improve living conditions of the local populations.
The planned activities include the:
(1) setting up of basic research infrastructure (OS1R4A3),
(2) implementation of research projects focusing on:
- natural forest dynamics (OS1R1A1, OS1R4A2, OS3R1A3),
- valorisation of above-ground woody biomass (OS1R1A3, OS2R1A2, OS2R3A1, OS2R3A2, OS2R3A3, OS3R1A3), and
(3) organisation of trainings and field visits for local scientists, technicians and students (OS2R3A3, OS3R2A1, OS3R2A2, OS3R2A3), as well as environmental education activities for local people/villagers (OS1R2A4).
Moreover we aim at providing services to activities concerning the sustainable management of P. elata natural stands (OS3R1A3), inventory of land cover (OS1R1A1), YPS [1] (flux towers), the establishment of fuelwood plantations (OS2R3A3, OS2R1A2, OS3R1A3) and part of the botanical investigations.
The service of Wood Biology (RMCA) will contribute to the analysis of carbon fluxes through research on tree growth, typically with dendrometers, cambial wounding experiments and tree-ring analysis. This will allow very detailed studies of the reactions of trees to atmospheric fluxes of carbon and fluctuating climate factors. The laboratory infrastructure allowing this type of wood biological research will extensively be used to support the planned flux tower investigations.
Lastly, the research within the context of the FORETS project will document the exhibition hall on the Yangambi forest, in the renewed permanent exhibition of the RMCA. Recordings based on the far-reaching use of new audio-visual techniques are also being planned.