Journal of Sustainable Forestry

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Culm Allometry and Carbon Storage Capacity of

Bambusa vulgaris Schrad. ex J.C.WendL. in the
Tropical Evergreen Rain Forest of Cameroon

Barnabas Neba Nfornkah , Rene Kaam , Tchamba Martin , Zapfack Louis ,

Chimi Djomo Cedric , Gadinga Walter Forje , Tanougong Armand Delanot ,
Tsewoue Mélanie Rosine , Atchombou Jean Baurel , Tientcheu Loic , Zanguim
Tchoutezou Guy Herman , Kede Yves & Djeukam Stelle Vartent

To cite this article: Barnabas Neba Nfornkah , Rene Kaam , Tchamba Martin , Zapfack Louis ,
Chimi Djomo Cedric , Gadinga Walter Forje , Tanougong Armand Delanot , Tsewoue Mélanie
Rosine , Atchombou Jean Baurel , Tientcheu Loic , Zanguim Tchoutezou Guy Herman , Kede
Yves & Djeukam Stelle Vartent (2020): Culm Allometry and Carbon Storage Capacity of Bambusa
vulgaris Schrad. ex J.C.WendL. in the Tropical Evergreen Rain Forest of Cameroon, Journal of
Sustainable Forestry, DOI: 10.1080/10549811.2020.1795688

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/10549811.2020.1795688

Published online: 26 Jul 2020.

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JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY
https://doi.org/10.1080/10549811.2020.1795688

Culm Allometry and Carbon Storage Capacity of Bambusa

vulgaris Schrad. ex J.C.WendL. in the Tropical Evergreen Rain
Forest of Cameroon
Barnabas Neba Nfornkah a,b, Rene Kaamc, Tchamba Martina, Zapfack Louisd,
Chimi Djomo Cedric e, Gadinga Walter Forje a, Tanougong Armand Delanot a,b
,
Tsewoue Mélanie Rosinea, Atchombou Jean Baurel a, Tientcheu Loica,
Zanguim Tchoutezou Guy Hermana, Kede Yvesa, and Djeukam Stelle Vartentb
a
Laboratory of Environmental Geomatics, Department of Forestry, Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural
Sciences, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon; bFocabs INC. Cameroon, Cité De 7 Collines Tsinga- Bloc D,
Yaoundé, Yaounde Cameroon, Yaounde, Cameroon; cInternational Bamboo and Rattan Organization; behind
Bastos Factory; Yaounde, Yaounde, Cameroon; dPlant Systematic and Ecology Laboratory, Department of Plant
Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroon; eInstitute of Agricultural Research for
the Development (IRAD), Bertoua, Cameroon

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
The carbon storage capacity and allometry for bamboo in forest Agroecological zone;
ecosystems has been neglected in the Congo Basin. This study eval­ allometric equations;
uated the above ground carbon stocks and develop allometry for Bambusa vulgaris; Cameroon;
emissions; tropical evergreen
Bambusa vulgaris Schrad. ex J.C.Wendl. in the tropical evergreen forest
forest
of Cameroon. Data was collected destructively. Culm density and
aboveground carbon were extrapolated; and log transformed models
were regressed for best fit allometries. Age of bamboo appeared to be
the best predictor of biomass, followed by height and diameter
respectively. Height of culm was the best predictor of leaf biomass.
The best fit allometric model was obtained when all three predictive
variables (diameter, height and age) were inputted in the model. The
culm density was 2296 bamboo per hectare (ha); the average above­
ground biomass of bamboo was 29 kg; the total aboveground carbon
of bamboo per hectare (AGCbamboo per ha) was 29.70 t C per ha and
the total aboveground carbon dioxide emission of bamboo per hec­
tare (AGCbamboo emissions per ha) was 108.7 t CO2 equivalence. The
more predictive variables were added in a model, the more the mod­
el’s quality improved and thereby reducing the uncertainty. Thus, the
destruction of one ha of bamboo releases enormous CO2 into the
atmosphere. These findings are especially timely given the urgent
need to quantify carbon stocks in the tropics and formulate good
policies to fight against climate change in Cameroon.

Introduction
Global climate change has inspired an increasing interest of scientific and political com­
munities in the study of global carbon storage and carbon balance (INBAR, 2006; Landsberg
et al., 1995). In this light, many countermeasures have been proposed to mitigate the trends

CONTACT Barnabas Neba Nfornkah [email protected] University of Dschang Cameroon, P.O.Box 222,
Dschang, Cameroon
© 2020 Taylor & Francis
2 B. N. NFORNKAH ET AL.

of increasing carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere (IPCC, 2006). One important
carbon sink is the bamboo forests.
Bamboos are a variety of perennial woody grasses belonging to the family of Poaceae,
subfamily Bambusoideae (Ohrnberger, 1999). There are about 1662 species of bamboo
worldwide comprising approximately 121 genera, with 232 (14%) found beyond their native
ranges (Canavan et al., 2017). This fast-growing grass plant covers over 30 million hectares
of land across the world (INBAR, 2019a), and has been proven to help combat a number of
global challenges, including rural poverty, land degradation, deforestation, urban develop­
ment, unsustainable resource use and climate change (Gray et al., 2016; INBAR, 2019a,
2019b; Ingram et al., 2010; A. J. Nath et al., 2015; Odour, 2012; Terefe & Yu, 2019).
Regarding bamboo’s increasing role in ecosystem services, bamboo dominates in bio­
mass accumulation and carbon storage due to its rapid growth (A.J. Nath et al., 2009;
A. J. Nath et al., 2015; Kumar et al., 2005; Li et al., 2016; Yuen et al., 2017; Zhuang et al.,
2015) and correspondingly high potential for mitigating climate change (Fekadu et al., 2016;
Song et al., 2011; Xu et al., 2018; Zhao et al., 2018). From a review of 184 studies on bamboo
biomass for 70 species (22 genera), Yuen et al. (2017) assemble plausible ranges for above­
ground carbon stocks (16–128 Mg C per ha), below-ground carbon (BGC) biomass (8–­
64 Mg C/ha) confirming its ability to sequestrate CO2 and conserve for long.
Cameroon has about 12 species of bamboo species of the subfamily Bambusoideae (Neba
et al., 2020). Bamboo contributes greatly to the socioeconomic livelihood of the local
population of Cameroon. Ingram et al. (2010) identified several benefits of bamboo to the
local population including: furniture, fencing and hedges, construction materials, utensils,
baskets and containers, hunting tools, support for crops, water pipes, musical instruments,
ornamental and decorative plants, fuelwood, paper pulp and food. The most used bamboo
species in the coastal region of Cameroon (Bambusa vulgaris) is an introduced species
(Ingram et al., 2010). The species was probably brought by the colonial powers (Germans)
scrambling for Cameroon in the 18th century, to support their agricultural activities.
Knowledge on bamboo in Cameroon is very poor as literature presents only a few studies
(Ingram & Tieguhong, 2013; Ingram et al., 2010) on socio-economic study of bamboo
(Non-Timber forest product and value chain). In the domain of climate change mitigation
in Cameroon and Congo Basin in general, bamboo carbon sinks have totally been neglected
as no study is found in literature. However, studies in other carbon sinks record some
interesting data in developing allometric equations for woody trees (e.g. Chave et al., 2005,
2014; Djomo & Chimi, 2017; Fayolle et al., 2013; Nfornkah et al., 2018) and carbon stocks
estimation in agroforestry systems (e.g. Nguekeng et al., 2018; Noiha et al., 2017; Tchobsala
et al., 2016; Temgoua et al., 2018).
Bambusa vulgaris was selected for this study because: (1) it occupies about 43% (526
084.08 ha) of entire surface area covered by bamboos in Cameroon (Neba et al., submitted);
(2) Agroecological Zone 4 (AEZ 4) is the zone with the greatest B. vulgaris species (302
989.41 ha) (Tchamba et al., 2020; Neba et al., submitted) in Cameroon. It is the dominant
bamboo species in AEZ4; (3) this woody grass is distributed along river courses, and roads
and around settlements and plantations across the Coastal region of Cameroon facing
unsustainable use; (4) the exotic species has enormous importance in this AEZ as it is
used to stabilize roads, supports for crops in plantations (banana, plantain, rubber, oil
palm), handles of sickled knives for pruning and harvesting of palm and cocoa nuts in oil
palm plantations and for house construction in the lowlands (coast of Cameroon).
 JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY 3

In order to fill the knowledge gap on carbon stocks accounting in the Congo Basin; this
study was initiated to (1) establish aboveground allometric equations; and (2) estimate
above ground carbon storage for B. vulgaris in agroecological zone 4 (AEZ4) in the ever­
green tropical rain forest of Cameroon. The results provide scientific baseline information
to policy makers and development planners on the value of bamboo in carbon sequestra­
tion, which could be mainstreamed in to the REDD+ strategy of Cameroon to mitigates
climate change.

Materials and methodology

Study site
This study was carried out in the Monomodal rainfall forest or Agroecological zone (AEZ) 4
of Cameroon situated between longitude 8° and 11° E and latitude 2° and 6° N. The
monomodal rainfall forest area (covering 12.3%) of the national territory consist of the
dense forests with a humid equatorial climate, covering the Southwest (4.3%), the Coast
(3.4%), part of the South (3.7%) and a tiny portion of the Center (0.7%) (Institute de
Recherche Agricole pour le Développement (IRAD, 2005)). The biophysical characteristics
of the study area (AEZ 4) is summarized in Table 1.
Four specific study site were selected for this study: Campo beach (South): longitude:
2.21° N, latitude: 9.59°E; Lendi Kribi (South) longitude: 2.9406° N; latitude: 9.9102° E;
Mouanko (Littoral); longitude: 3.6417° N; latitude: 9.7818° E and Nkongsamba (Littoral)
longitude: 4.9741° N; latitude: 9.9353° E). The forest characteristics and ecological factors of
the study sites are summarized in Table 1.
Although three of the study sites (Campo, Kribi and Mouanko) in the study area were
lowland coastal landscape, the Nkongsamba site was on a highland about 844 m. This
distribution of the sample plots exploited differences in elevation, rainfall, temperature, soil
types, bedrock, and bamboo culm densities variation. This was particularly designed to
capture different environmental factors.

Field survey
Survey was conducted in August—September, 2019. Three data sets were collected on each
collecting site: (1) ecological factors of the site; (2) allometric equation data (destructive
measurements); and (3) bamboo and carbon stocks assessment (nondestructive measure­
ment), on three different data sheets.

Allometry data
Eight circular plots of 100 m2 (5.64 m radius) were setup during the survey; with 2 sample
plots each per bamboo forest site (e.g. 2 plots in Campo, 2 in Kribi . . .). The size and shape of
the sample plots were consistently circular in all 4 sites. The predictive variables measured
from bamboo plants here were diameter at 1.5 m (D), height (H) and age (A) groups.
Response variables here were bamboo components (culm, branches and leaves) for biomass.
The bamboo plant (stem) grows and attains maximum height in its first growth year (Kaushal
et al., 2018; Tran, 2010). Bamboo age was determined from morphological and color change
(B. Huy et al., 2013; Kaushal et al., 2018; Li et al., 2016). The age was grouped into 1 year, 2 year
 4

Table 1. Biophysical characteristics of the study sites.

Factors/Variables Description/
Range Values
Campo Beach Lendi Kribi Moaunko Nkongsamba II
B. N. NFORNKAH ET AL.

Annual rainfall (mm) 2 685 1800–2000 2000–2200 1364.4

Annual temperature (°C) 25 25 25 24
Humidity (mean %) 73 75 78 //
Climate type Equatorial type of Classical Guinean Guinean Equatorial (4 seasons) Equatorial type (4 seasons) Equatorial type (2 seasons)
(4 seasons)
Seasons 2 wets (Sept-Nov.; March-May.) 2 wets (March-June; Aug.-Oct.) 2 wets (mid. April-mid June; mid Aug.- One dry season (Nov – Feb.
2 dries (Dec.- Feb; Jun.- Aug.) 2 dries (Nov.- mid March; mid Jun.- mid Aug.) mid Nov.) One wet season (March –
2 dries (mid. Nov.- mid April; mid Jun.- Oct.)
mid Aug.)
Bedrock Metamorphic Metamorphic Metamorphic Igneous
Soil color Grayish dark Grayish dark Brown, red to dark, Dark
Soil type Vertisols and ferralitic soils Ferralitic, Sandy, Silty Ferralitic/Silty, hydromorphic and Sandy Volcanic soils, andosol
Sources: PCD Campo (2014), Field survey PCD Niete (2013) and field survey PCD Moaunko (2011) and field survey PCD Bare (2011) and Field
survey
Altitude range(m) 13–18 20–200 10–100 870
Soil layer depth (cm) 47 60 45 50
Slope gradient (°) 5 5 3 7
Source: Field observation Field observation
Hydrography Ntem Basin Atlantic Basin Sanaga river, Atlantic Ocean Nkam and Moungo Rivers
Relief Flat, Gentle Flat Hilly, plateaux, valleys
Vegetation Biafran and Littoral Atlantic types Evergreen, ombrophile and hydrophile Equatorial Evergreen humid dense equatorial forest Primary and secondary
dense forest. forests
Sources: PCD Campo (2014), Field survey PCD Niete (2013) and field survey PCD Moaunko (2011) and field survey PCD Bare (2011) and Field
survey
N/B: PCD: Plan Communal de Développement
 JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY 5

and ≥ 3-year-old culms (Angom et al., 2018). Five percent (5%) of each bamboo age group was
identified per plot. The diameter of each bamboo plant was measured with a tree caliper at
1.5 m (diameter at breast height) (Huy & Trinh, 2019). The bamboo was harvested with the
aid of a hand saw. The length of the cut bamboo plant (height) was measured with a calibrated
meter tape (penta decameter). The fresh weights of three components of each bamboo (e.g.
culms, branches and leaves) were separated and weighed insitu with an electronic suspension
scale with capacity of 300 kg. Subsamples from each bamboo component (e.g. culms [at three
positions on the culm: root collar, middle and top]; branches and leaves) were collected,
weighed insitu using an electronic scale with a precision of 0.1 g. Approximately 100–300 g of
weighed subsamples were put into plastic bags and coded (Fekadu et al., 2016). The informa­
tion coded on samples were: plot code, sample tree code and subsample name. All subsamples
were immediately taken to the laboratory of Rural Engineering, University of Dschang for
further analysis. The subsamples from culm, branch and leaves were then dried at 105°C in an
oven until constant weight was attained.
The fresh and dry-weights of the samples were used to determine the coefficient of dry/
fresh biomass ratio which was then used to calculate dry biomass of each bamboo tree
component (culm, branches and foliage) of the sampled bamboo trees from its fresh biomass.
Total component dry weight was extrapolated with the arithmetic rule of three (Fekadu et al.,
2016). A total of 83 bamboo plants were sampled destructively for the mean bamboo biomass
and model development.

Bamboo and carbon stocks assessment

Data was collected nondestructively in 3 out of 4 bamboo sample sites (Campo, Kribi and
Mouanko) with the exception of Nkongsamba because of very harsh weather conditions
during data inventory. At the GPS waypoint of the plot recorded on arrival, the nearest
bamboo clump was determined; from there five distances of six nearest bamboo clumps
sequentially were measured as shown in Figure 1 (Huy & Trinh, 2019). From the average
distance between the bamboo clumps, the number of bamboo clumps per hectare was
calculated. The number of culms (Nculms) per clump were also counted.

Data analysis
Allometric equation development
The R software (version 3.4.1) was used for allometric equations development and logarithmic
models were considered because in most cases it takes into account the heteroscedasticity of the
data on the original scale that satisfies normality of residuals and homogeneity of variances (B.
Huy et al., 2019; Picard et al., 2015; Xiao et al., 2011).
Response variables were aboveground bamboo (AGBbamboo): dry bamboo biomass of the
culm (AGBcl, kg), branches (AGBbr, kg), leaves (AGBle, kg). The predictive variables were:
diameter of culm (D cm); total height of culm (H m) and age class of culm (A year) (Kumar
et al., 2005; Li et al., 2016; Zhuang et al., 2015).
Several log transformed models were considered and tested in the context of this study,
and then compared in order to choose the best model, and some important model fit
statistics were used as recommended by several authors (Basuki et al., 2009; Chave et al.,
2005; Djomo & Chimi, 2017; B. Huy et al., 2016, 2019). These were: (1) adjusted coefficient
of determination (adj.R²) used to assess the model performance (where adjR2 coefficient
6 B. N. NFORNKAH ET AL.

Figure 1. Clump-based sampling for clumping bamboo (Sketch: Nguyen Thi Thao, 2019).

with p-value<0.05 and closer to 1 is considered better). For comparison of two models based
on this statistical parameter, the best model was the model whose adj.R² was the highest. (2)
Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) (Akaike, 1973) is a key statistic to compare and select
optimal models. The model with the least AIC value was selected as the best-fit model. The
parameter of significance of each model was the (p-value). (3) The Residual Standard Error
(RSE), like the AIC was used and the model with the least RSE value was selected as the best
model. (4) Two statistical error parameters “Relative Root Mean Squared Error (RRMSE)”
and average bias (%) were used for the cross-validation, model selection, evaluation and
comparison (Huy, 2017; B. Huy et al., 2019). However, it is important to note also that the
logarithmic transformation introduces bias into the model; which was corrected by the
correction factor (CF):
2
CF ¼ RSE =2 (1)

Density, aboveground biomass and carbon stocks estimations

According to the sampling design adopted for B. vulgaris inventory, the number of culms
per clump; clumps per hectare; and biomass per hectare were extrapolated mathematically
(Huy & Trinh, 2019). Biomass was converted to carbon stocks using the wood carbon
fraction (47%) and Carbon stocks emission estimation of (3.67tCO2eq.) (IPCC, 2006).

Results
Allometric equation
Globally, the regression showed that biomass of bamboo components increases with
increasing diameter of culm at 1.5 m except with bamboo branch (Figure 2).
 JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY 7

Figure 2. Relationship between leaves, branches, culms and AGB bamboo biomass with diameter at 1.5 m.
8 B. N. NFORNKAH ET AL.

Aboveground allometric equations for B. vulgaris biomass components estimation

On the basis of bamboo components and the statistical tests done for each model (AIC, RSE
and adj.R²), age class appeared to be the best predictor of branches; whereas for leaves, culm
and AGB, it was the height that appeared to be the best predictive variables than others. The
addition of other variables on these models improved the adjustments, thus, the considera­
tion of variables two-by-two showed that, diameter-age class provided the best adjustment
compared to diameter-height for all bamboo biomass components with the exception of
those of leaves where the contrary was observed. However, it was the consideration of these
three predictive variables that gave a good adjustment with any response variable consid­
ered (Table 2).
Using Bias (%) for model validation of AGBbiomass, the following model with least values
were validated for AGBbiomass estimation having the bias of −19.96%. However, it was also
noticed that all the models had negative biases (Table 2) and were validated for AGB with
the equation:
3:365þ1:015�InðDÞþ0:762�InðAÞþ1:311�InðHÞÞ
AGB ¼ exp:ð (2)

Density, above ground biomass and carbon stocks of B. vulgaris

The inventory of B. vulgaris done in 3 plots showed that, the mean number of culms and
clumps per ha vary between 1675–2932 (mean 2296 ± 631) culm per ha and 19–25 (20 ± 3)
clump per ha respectively. And the average distance between two (2) clumps was 18–57 m
(16.57–20.76). Concerning AGB, the average AGBculm was 29 ± 649 kg and that of clump
was 63.02 ± 4.1 t per ha. The mean bamboo carbon stocks in AEZ 4 was estimated to
29.62 ± 1.93 t C per ha and 108.70 ± 7.07 t CO2eq per ha. This result is summarized in
Table 3.

Discussion
Predictors for bamboo AGB and its components in B. vulgaris
The Congo Basin has seen a considerable carbon accounting in the different carbon sinks;
with the development of pantropical (Chave et al., 2014; Fayolle et al., 2013), understory
(Chimi et al., 2018; Djomo & Chimi, 2017), epiphytes (Nfornkah et al., 2018) allometries,
including other land use systems like agroforestry (Kabelong et al., 2018; Nguekeng et al.,
2018; Noiha et al., 2017; Temgoua et al., 2018) with bamboo being the exception. In the
world, many allometries have been developed on bamboo and carbon stocks estimated in
Asia-Pacific (Yuen et al., 2017). Despite all these numerous studies carried out on woody
trees and bamboos, the whole Congo Basin is still to have one study on bamboo carbon
accounting. This study lays down a baseline in the Congo Basin for other studies to follow.
A complete carbon stocks of bamboo in an ecosystem would have been the best as it assesses
the total carbon stocks of bamboo per ecological system, unfortunately, limited resources
and the difficulty in collecting field data for belowground biomass (B. Huy et al., 2019;
A. J. Nath et al., 2015; Yuen et al., 2017) limited the study to Aboveground Carbon (AGC) of
B. vulgaris.
Table 2. Allometric equations for Bambusa vulgaris bamboo biomass components estimation of agro-ecological zone 4 in Cameroon.
Equations N D range a b c d RRSME RSE Adj.R2 AIC CF Bias (%) P-value
Leaves biomass
lnAGBle = a + b × ln(D) 58 4.3–10.1 −3.269* 1.319ns 2.70 0.927 0.032 160 0.43 −131.36 0.094
lnAGBle = a + b × ln(H) 58 4.3–10.1 −4.607* 1.441* 2.50 0.914 0.060 158 0.42 −125.26 0.035
lnAGBle = a + b × ln(A) 58 4.3–10.1 −1.290* 0.700ns 2.63 0.941 0.004 161 0.44 −134.49 0.274
lnAGBle = a + b × ln(D2 × A) 58 4.3–10.1 −3.038* 0.487ns 2.59 0.926 0.034 160 0.43 −130.15 0.088
lnAGBle = a + b × ln(D2 × H) 58 4.3–10.1 −4.132* 0.518ns 2.63 0.919 0.050 159 0.42 −127.73 0.051
lnAGBle = a + b × ln(D2 × H × A) 58 4.3–10.1 −3.906* 0.425* 2.52 0.918 0.051 158 0.42 −126.30 0.049
Branches biomass
lnAGBbr = a + b × ln(D) 68 4.3–10.1 1.235ns −0.295ns 2.91 0.879 −0.012 179 0.39 −123.70 0.643
lnAGBbr = a + b × ln(H) 68 4.3–10.1 −0.631ns 0.461ns 3.10 0.872 −0.006 178 0.38 −125.37 0.436
lnAGBbr = a + b × ln(A) 68 4.3–10.1 −0.707*** 1.598*** 1.07 0.656 0.431 140 0.22 −51.39 0.001
lnAGBbr = a + b × ln(D) + c × ln(A) 68 4.3–10.1 −0.177ns −0.263ns 1.597*** 1.08 0.659 0.425 141 0.22 −51.47 0.001
lnAGBbr = a + b × ln(D) + c × ln(H) 68 4.3–10.1 −0.469ns −1.436ns 1.448ns 2.90 0.863 0.016 178 0.37 −118.10 0.225
lnAGBbr = a + b × ln(D) +c × ln(H) + d × ln(A) 68 4.3–10.1 −1.478ns −1.150ns 1.126ns 1.570*** 1.00 0.649 0.442 140 0.21 −48.25 0.001
Culm biomass
lnAGBcl = a + b × ln(D) 83 4.3–10.1 −1.689* 2.166*** 1.33 0.561 0.292 144 0.16 −41.43 0.001
lnAGBcl = a + b × ln(H) 83 4.3–10.1 −3.339*** 2.186*** 0.92 0.515 0.404 129 0.13 −31.08 0.001
lnAGBcl = a + b × ln(A) 83 4.3–10.1 2.216*** 0.670*** 1.18 0.594 0.205 153 0.18 −45.47 0.001
lnAGBcl = a + b × ln(D) + c × ln(A) 83 4.3–10.1 −2.321*** 2.238*** 0.701*** 0.81 0.460 0.524 112 0.11 −25.19 0.001
lnAGBcl = a + b × ln(D) + c × ln(H) 83 4.3–10.1 −3.836*** 0.947* 1.673*** 0.91 0.502 0.432 126 0.13 −30.08 0.001
lnAGBcl = a + b × ln(D2 × A) + c × ln(H) 83 4.3–10.1 −3.982*** 0.625*** 1.348*** 0.59 0.412 0.618 93 0.08 −18.35 0.001
AGB biomass
lnAGB = a + b × ln(D) 83 4.3–10.1 −0.997ns 1.891*** 1.63 0.602 0.212 155 0.21 −53.45 0.001
lnAGB = a + b × ln(H) 83 4.3–10.1 −2.849** 2.059*** 1.11 0.548 0.345 140 0.15 −37.40 0.001
lnAGB = a + b × ln(A) 83 4.3–10.1 2.258*** 0.809*** 1.10 0.569 0.295 146 0.16 −40.15 0.001
lnAGB = a + b × ln(D) + c × ln(A) 83 4.3–10.1 −1.750** 1.978*** 0.836*** 0.82 0.463 0.534 112 0.11 −25.54 0.001
lnAGB = a + b × ln(D) + c × ln(H) 83 4.3–10.1 −3.188*** 0.647ns 1.708*** 1.09 0.545 0.353 140 0.15 −36.69 0.001
lnAGB = a + b × ln(D)+ c× ln(A) + d × ln(H) 83 4.3–10.1 −3.365*** 1.015** 0.762*** 1.311*** 0.62 0.420 0.616 98 0.09 −19.56 0.001
Note: Statistical analyzes are significant at 95% confidence interval. ***p < 0.001; **p < 0.01; *p < 0.05; and ns (non-significant) p > 0.05
AGB: Aboveground biomass of bamboo; AGBcl: biomass of culm; AGBbr: biomass of branches; AGBle: biomass of leaves; D: Diameter of culm; H: total height of culm; A: Age of culm; N: the sample
size; a, b, c and d are the model’s fitted parameters; RRMSE: Relative root mean square error; RSE: residual standard error of the estimate; Adj.R2: coefficient of determination; AIC: Akaike
Information Criterion and CF: correction factor.
JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY
9
10 B. N. NFORNKAH ET AL.

Table 3. Descriptive statistics of density of culm and clump, AGBculm and AGBclump of B. vulgaris in study
area.
Descriptive statistic Number of sites Mean Min Max Sd
Average distance (m) 3 18.57 16.42 20.76 2.17
Nculm (N per ha) 3 2296 1675 2932 631
Nclump (N per ha) 3 20 19 25 3
Mean AGBculm bamboo (kg) 3 29.00 23.21 37.08 649
AGBclump bamboo (t per ha) 3 63.02 62.12 68.07 4.10
AGCclump bamboo (t C per ha) 3 29.62 2.,20 31.99 1.93
AGCclump bamboo (t CO2eq per ha) 3 108.70 107.15 117.41 7.07
N/B: Nculm (N per ha): total number of culms per ha; Nclump (N per ha): total number of clumps per ha; Mean AGBculm bamboo
(kg): mean total aboveground biomass per bamboo plant (culm + branches + leaves); AGBclump bamboo (t per ha): mean
total bamboo aboveground biomass per ha; mean total aboveground carbon stocks per ha; mean total aboveground CO2
emission per ha.

The results of this study showed that, age of bamboo appears to be the best predictor for
biomass. It was observed in the field that 1-year old B. vulgaris has no branches and leaves.
These branches and leaves emerge and develop in the later age of the plant. This confirms
the correlation between age and biomass of B. vulgaris. Thus, branches and leaves increase
as age increase likewise biomass (Nath & Das, 2011).
Zhuang et al. (2015) in a study undertaken on Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) in
the forest stands of Fujian, China, found that “bamboo biomass increases with bamboo age
in stands; and the bamboo culm accounts for most of the total biomass”. Concerning
bamboo components, the height appears to be the best predictive variable for leaves,
culm and AGB although adj.R2 values only attain approximately 0.4. This means the taller
the bamboo, the greater the branches are borne on the culm; and the more the leaves on the
branches. Due to rare literature on B. vulgaris allometry in the world, these results were
compared with allometries of other bamboo species established elsewhere.
The adj.R2 = 0.4 of this study is closer those of B. Huy et al. (2019) who found the
relationship between biomass of branch (Bbr) to biomass of leave (Ble) with covariates D,
D2 H as adj.R2̴ 0.5; also, similar to that of Melo et al. (2015), Li et al. (2016) Yen et al. (2010)
found that the relationship between biomass of foliage and branches. Makino bamboo
species (Phyllostachys makinoi) with variable D as adjR2 = 0.5–0.6.
When predictor variables were considered two-by-two, for example: diameter-age class,
it provided the best adjR2 = 0.6 when compared to diameter-height for all bamboo biomass
components with the exception of the leaves. This means that age has a direct positive
impact on the diameter and height of bamboo (diameter and height increase with age
increase). This increase in diameter and height of bamboo increases biomass as well.
Conversely, bamboo’s diameter does not depend on the height of the culm. From observa­
tions, there were bamboos with small diameters and long heights of same species and vice
versa. B. Huy et al. (2019) reported similar results in biomass of the culm (Bcu) and that of
entire stems: leaves, culm and branches (AGB) to be closely related to the D variable or the
combination of D2 H variables (predictors). Other authors (Li et al., 2016; Melo et al., 2015)
have reported similar results.
The H-variable model has always been difficult to apply to bamboo because H is difficult
to measure nondestructively, because of culm density (Yuen et al., 2017; Zhang et al., 2014).
This explains why several models for bamboo components and AGB used only D variable as
predictor; for examples: A.J. Nath et al. (2009) model on B. vulgaris, Kumar et al. (2005)
 JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY 11

model on Bambusa bambos (L.) Voss and Li et al. (2016) model on Bambusa stenosstachya.
However, when all three predictive variables (D, A, and H) were considered, a good
adjustment is observed in all the response variables as found in the result of this study.
This is consistent with the results of B. Huy et al. (2019) who added the H variable to the
variable combination (D2 H) for the components and AGB models and it reduced the
uncertainty. Similar results are also recorded by other authors (Li et al., 2016; Ricardo et al.,
2013; Yiping et al., 2010; Yuen et al., 2017). Nevertheless, only the H variable is site indexed
if the H involved in the D2 H variables combination reduces the site model specificity
(Dutcă et al., 2018). This shows that, the more predictors are added in a model, the more the
uncertainty reduces thus, increasing the predictive efficiency of the model in carbon
prediction.

Density, carbon stocks and emissions

Bamboo density in our study ranged from 1675 to 2932 with mean value of 2296 culm per
ha. Uchimura (1978) in a study carried out on B. vulgaris in the Philippine recorded 9000
culm per ha. The density was far greater than ours. This may be linked to a number of
factors amongst which are: ecological differences, edaphic factor, microclimatic conditions,
unmanaged nature of bamboo in Cameroon and maybe because B. vulgaris is introduced
and naturalized. The colonial powers (Germans) introduced this species to stabilize roads
from landslides and so was scantily planted B. vulgaris linearly along roads, water courses
and settlement areas (Ingram et al., 2010). There were lots of dry (dead) bamboo in clump
stands (personal observation). The unkempt nature of bamboo stands may have had
a negative role on the growth and development of new bamboo shoots thus, facilitating
disease attack and dead of young shoots compared to managed bamboo stands (Jayaraman
& Trinh, 2020).
The bamboo clump sizes in the study area were very large but with relatively small
number (mean 20 ± 3) of B. vulgaris clumps per ha, and sparsely distributed at a mean
distance of 18.6 m between two clumps. This partly explains why the density was low.
However, the density falls within the range compile by Chen et al. (2009): 1350–4545 culms
per ha.
Considering culm densities of other bamboo species, Zhuang et al. (2015) recorded
bamboo density range of 3330 to 3800 culm per ha with Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys
pubescens); which is higher than ours. Xu et al. (2018) fond the range of 3400 to 4722 culm
per ha in P. pubescens. It is normal because P. pubescens is a high-density running bamboo.
The mean AGB per plant was estimated at 29 kg (13.6 kg C). This shows that bamboo
plants are relatively big in sizes. The large bamboo sizes explain the high carbon storage
capacity of B. vulgaris. As the density of B. vulgaris increases per hectare, more carbon
dioxide is captured and stored. This result corroborates with those of Prashant et al. (2015)
on biomass production potential in different species of bamboo in central Uttar, Pradesh;
who reported that B. vulgaris is 30.97 kg and 2.678 kg for Culm and branches + leaves
respectively. These authors also found AGBs of different B. species for culm and branches +
leaves respectively as: B. bambos (35.92 and 2.254); B. balcoa (48.06 and 3.488); B. tulda
(33.624 and 2.194); B. nutan (25.01 and 0.978); and B. asper (2.21 and 0.448). It means
generally that B. species are good species to be proposed for degraded landscape recovery
due to their high potentials in carbon sequestration and storage. The height range of
12 B. N. NFORNKAH ET AL.

12.3–19.3 m of our species reflects those of Prashant et al. (2015) who also found that the
mean height of B. vulgaris was 13.920 ± 0.849 m, B. bamboo (15.524 ± 0.849 m), B. balcoa
(15.620 ± 0.999), B. tulda (15.840 ± 1.023), B. nutan (11.860 ± 0.279 m); and B. asper
(5.346 ± 0.116). This result falls within the range estimate of B. Huy et al. (2019) on
B. procera A. Chev. and A. Camus in tropical forests, with 2.65 to 33.53 (mean10.69 ± 6.11)
of AGB per plant. Zhuang et al. (2015) showed that the biomass carbon of Moso bamboo
was approximately 14.0 kg per culm with the bamboo culm accounting for 60%.
This study found a mean bamboo AGC to be 29.62 t. C per ha. Considering the low
bamboo culm density of B. vulgaris in this study area compared to that results of Uchimura
(1978), our carbon storage capacity seems to be high, attributed maybe to the large culm
sizes for example. Uchimura (1978) reports of 106 Mg per ha of B. vulgaris biomass (53 C
Mg per ha) with culm density (9000 culms per ha) which is about four times more than what
was recorded in our study. This shows a high carbon storage capacity of B. vulgaris in our
study area. This difference may be due to the differences in ecological zones, microclimate.
This carbon value falls within the range obtained by Yuen et al. (2017) for aboveground
bamboo carbon biomass of 16–128 Mg C per ha and A. J. Nath et al. (2015) for the carbon
storage in woody bamboos of 30–121 Mg per ha. Angom et al. (2018) on total aboveground
biomass of Melocanna baccifera and Bambusa tulda find 106.68 (50.12 Mg C per ha) and
97.00 (45.59 Mg C per ha) respectively. Li et al. (2016) used some models to predict the AGB
and carbon storage at the stand level, obtaining amounts of 58.5 Mg and 26.8 Mg C per ha,
respectively. The bamboo biomass carbon ranged from 48.31 Mg C to 60.58 Mg C per ha
from the north to south with latitude (Xu et al., 2018).

Use and management of B. vulgaris carbon stocks in this evergreen rainforest of

Cameroon
The exploitation and supply of tropical wood in the study zone benefits just a few moderate
to high income earners. Observations showed that the low-income earners depended on
bamboo for construction, support for crops, ladder, harvest and sale of culms etc. (Ingram,
2017; Ingram & Tieguhong, 2013; Ingram et al., 2010). Traditional craftsmen prepare
different fishing and agriculture related products with B. vulgaris for their own needs and
to sell in the market in course of the year. The high-income earners buy bamboo in expense
of wood plank for construction because they are cheap and versatile (Neba et al., sub­
mitted.). Therefore, utilization of B. vulgaris offers the opportunity to maintain and increase
carbon stocks through carbon sequestration as long as the products are not burnt and are
instead used for durable products (A.J. Nath et al., 2009). Some out of ignorance excavate
and burn bamboo for lighting the environment; and others clear it for arable agricultural
lands (Ingram et al., 2010; Zhao et al., 2018), and finally, road expansions have destroyed
hectares of B. vulgaris in the study area. With the enormous use of B. vulgaris in the agro
industrial plantations and the under privileged in the villages, bamboo stocks management
becomes very necessary and only scientifically informed decisions can provide sustainable
environmental and socio-economic security; to millions in the local or rural communities in
the study area and Cameroon at large.
Environmentally in this AEZ4, a hectare of B. vulgaris converted to another land use
cover change emits averagely 108.70 t CO2eq of CO2 into the atmosphere. With the active
infrastructural expansion in the South, Littoral and Center Regions in terms of roads,
 JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY 13

B vulgaris is threatened due to its high linear presence on roads sites. The findings of this
study are crucial for policy makers in Cameroon to rapidly reflect on a restoration strategy
and push forth policies for bamboo resource management and development. This policy
action shall lead to ecosystem resilience, and poverty reduction within the local commu­
nities thus, contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs
2030) 1 and 13 of the United Nations.

Conclusion
Mono specific allometric equation, density, carbon stocks and emissions were developed for
B. vulgaris in the monomodal rainfall forest or AEZ4 of Cameroon. The results of this study
showed that it was the consideration of the three predictive variables (age, diameter and
height) into the model that gave the best adjustment for culm component biomass.
Concerning density and carbon stocks, the results showed a low-level density of bamboo
per ha in AEZ4. The carbon storage was estimated at 29.62 t C per ha which is lower than in
other ecosystems of Cameroon. Bamboo forest seems to be one of the most neglected
ecosystems in Cameroon, although it has a considerable carbon storage capacity for green­
house gas reduction. Consideration should be given to bamboo by law makers and policies
should be to be enacted to guarantee the sustainable management of bamboo in Cameroon.

Acknowledgments
We thank the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization (INBAR) in Cameroon for funding this
survey. We also thank all persons who assisted in the field inventory and laboratory work, and those
who reviewed this manuscript.

Funding
This work was supported by the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization, Cameroon.

ORCID
Barnabas Neba Nfornkah http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0319-689X
Chimi Djomo Cedric http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7068-8168
Gadinga Walter Forje http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1665-7261
Tanougong Armand Delanot http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4943-4013
Atchombou Jean Baurel http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9005-2303

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