Assessment of Woody Species Biodiversity and Carbon Stock Potentials in the Arboretum of National School of Water and Forests of Mbalmayo, Center Region of Cameroon

Assessing forest biodiversity is crucial for supporting sustainable forest planning. We investigated the potential for biodiversity and carbon sequestration in both artificial and natural forests of the arboretum of the National School of Water and Forests (ENEF) of Mbalmayo. A floristic inventory was carried out in 72 plots measuring 25m x 25m in the artificial forest covering an area of 4.5ha, and in a quadrat measuring 250m x 180m in the natural forest of the arboretum. Carbon stocks were determined by the non-destructive method using allometric equations. The results of the woody biodiversity inventories identified 77 species belonging to 69 genera and 33 families. This species richness varied from 69 species in the natural forest to 58 species in the artificial forest. Tree density was slightly higher in the artificial forest (616 ±339 ind/ha) than in the natural forest (312 ±176 ind/ha), without being significantly different. Basal area was constant in both types of forest studied, with an average of 55.97 ±36.28 m2/ha in the artificial forest and 58.33 ±19.42 m2/ha in the natural forest. The greatest quantity of sequestered carbon was found in the natural forest with 432±146.49 tC/ha compared with 400.69±328.37 tC/ha in the artificial forest. Nevertheless, these rates were not significantly different according to the ANOVA test. Given the importance of this massif in carbon sequestration and the needs of local populations, ENEF should support these populations in agroforestry practices and in the domestication of priority tree species.