Three Decades of Land-Cover Change and Potential Carbon Loss in Miombo Woodlands of Hwedza District in Zimbabwe (1990-2020)

Abstract

Land-use and land-cover change (LULC) has lately emerged as the main driver of land-use change and degradation globally, particularly in miombo landscapes. Miombo woodlands, whose extent covers most parts of southern African countries, play an important role in carbon sequestration and storage, while supporting millions of rural livelihoods. Despite uplifting and improving rural livelihoods, these woodlands are under threat from various anthropogenic activities including agricultural expansion, charcoal production and urban development. Through integration of multi-temporal remote sensing and carbon stock assessment at district level, the study provides substantial evidence on the effect of LULC on carbon stocks particularly the above-ground and below-ground carbon storage for miombo woodlands in Hwedza District, Zimbabwe. Landsat data processed in the Google Earth Engine was used to generate land[1]use maps for the years 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020. Post[1]classification analysis produced a land-use matrix. Carbon stock changes from forest land to other land uses were estimated using the Tier 1 stock-difference approach. Forest cover declined from 45% in 1990 to 37.6% in 2020, coupled with an increase in cropland and grassland. About 24 949 ha of forests were converted to cropland and other land uses, resulting in estimated emissions of 3.6 million tCO₂e over 30 years. The findings demonstrate the importance of sustainable land management practices that promotes continued suppression of emissions associated with LULC, which is key to the attainment of the country‘s climate change commitments in various reporting obligations under the convention.