Carbon stocks in necromass and soil pools of a Mozambican tropical dry forest under different disturbance regimes

Tropical dry forests comprise almost half of the world's tropical and subtropical forests, support the livelihoods of large numbers of the world's poorest people, yet they are the most threatened of the major tropical forest types and least studied of the world's forested ecosystems. Due to their fragility and the high demand for forest goods and services, tropical dry forests are also subject to one of the highest rates of deforestation and degradation. These disturbances affect the amount, input and the availability of woody debris, depending on the disturbance regime. This study aimed to quantify the C stocks in necromass and soil pools of Mecrusse woodlands under different disturbance regimes. C stock values for the different necromass components were consistently larger for the most disturbed Mecrusse woodlands. Consequently, soil organic matter and soil organic C (SOC) mass fractions and SOC stock were also larger for the most disturbed Mecrusse woodlands. Most C stock was from intact coarse woody debris (CWD). Overall, C stored in necromass was 37.7 Mg ha−1, of which 58.2% was from aboveground CWD, 30.3% from belowground necromass, and 11.4% from litter and fine woody debris. The majority of aboveground necromass was fallen CWD (54.6%), standing CWD ranked next (30%). The densities of intact, partially decayed, and rotten CWD were 98.7%, 83.2%, and 56.9% that of living trees, respectively. SOC stock was 39.7 Mg ha−1 for the whole population. Human pressure has led to more necromass and SOC stock.