Expressing carbon storage in economic terms: The case of the upper Omo Gibe Basin in Ethiopia

Abreham Berta Aneseyee; Teshome Soromessa; Eyasu Elias; Tomasz Noszczyk; Józef Hernik; Natei Ermais Benti

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152166

Expressing carbon storage in economic terms: The case of the upper Omo Gibe Basin in Ethiopia

Sci Total Environ. 2022 Feb 20:808:152166. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152166. Epub 2021 Dec 5.

Authors

Abreham Berta Aneseyee¹, Teshome Soromessa², Eyasu Elias³, Tomasz Noszczyk⁴, Józef Hernik⁵, Natei Ermais Benti⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Natural Resource Management, College of Agriculture and Natural Resource, Wolkite University, Wolkite, P.O. Box 07, Ethiopia. Electronic address: abreham.berta@wku.edu.et.
² Center of Environmental Science, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, P.O. Box 1176, Ethiopia. Electronic address: teshome.soromessa@aau.edu.et.
³ Center of Environmental Science, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, P.O. Box 1176, Ethiopia. Electronic address: eyasu.elias@aau.edu.et.
⁴ Department of Land Management and Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Land Surveying, University of Agriculture in Krakow, 253c Balicka Street, 30-149 Krakow, Poland. Electronic address: tomasz.noszczyk@urk.edu.pl.
⁵ Department of Land Management and Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Land Surveying, University of Agriculture in Krakow, 253c Balicka Street, 30-149 Krakow, Poland. Electronic address: rmhernik@cyf-kr.edu.pl.
⁶ Department of Physics, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Wolaita Sodo University, P.O. Box 138, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia. Electronic address: natei.ermias@aau.edu.et.

PMID: 34875319
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152166

Abstract

Terrestrial carbon storage is important for planning decisions regarding climate change. Therefore, modelling the spatial distribution of carbon storage and valuation can help restore the sustainability of the ecosystems. This study aimed at showing the spatial and temporal variations in carbon storage and valuation in the upper Omo Gibe Basin. Land use/cover and carbon pool data based on field data collection and laboratory analyses supported by GIS and remote sensing were used. The Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) software was used for modelling carbon storage. The Global voluntary carbon market price and Tropical Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) data were used for describing carbon storage in economic terms. ANOVA was carried out to detect significant differences in carbon stock correlation with parameters. The results show that the annual carbon stock declined by 0.37 t/ha and the carbon market declined from USD 25.04 billion in 1988 to USD 24.01 billion in 2018. The highest loss of carbon storage and valuation was found in forest land followed by grazing land. Moreover, carbon stock was positively correlated with NDVI and habitat quality (p < 0.05). Slopes did not affect carbon stock (p > 0.05). This study helps promote and enhance carbon trading.

Keywords: Carbon market; Environmental challenges; InVEST model; Land use/cover; Spatial analysis; TEEB.

MeSH terms

Carbon Sequestration
Carbon*
Conservation of Natural Resources
Ecosystem*
Ethiopia
Forests

Substances

Carbon