Investigation of edge effect on wood density in recent tropical forest edges in Yangambi Man and Biosphere Reserve

Abstract

Rapid development of lumbering activities in tropical forested areas has an important impact on carbon stocks and landscape configuration. Indeed, lumbering tend to fragment forest patches, extend edges length, and expose core areas to non-forested ecosystems. These exposed core areas then undergo new constraints that can lead to a shift in their ecological features, called the edge effect. We investigate the possible presence of an edge effect on wood density in Yangambi reserve. Wood density (along with diameter and height) is a key feature for biomass estimations in tropical forests. Thus, fluctuations of wood density in forest edges could lead to incorrect estimations of carbon stocks. Ten 1ha plots were installed in core and recent (5 to 10 years) forest¿s edges. Trees were measured and wood samples were collected for density analysis. We focused on 2 main research questions: 1) Does the edge effect induce the emergence of species with a higher or lower wood density in edge area? 2) Does wood density differ amongst individuals of the same specie in core and in edge area? While the data is still being explored as we write, preliminary results seem to indicate that there is no significant difference between the overall mean wood density in edge and core plots. Density differences amongst species are still under exploration. If this behaviour still holds, this would imply that the fragmentation of a forested landscape has no short-term effect on the overall forest wood density and thus, no effect on biomass estimations.Congo Basin integrated monitoring for forest carbon mitigation and biodiversity (COBIMFO