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Baccini
et al.
(2008),
above- and below-ground biomass
carbon in the DRC amount to 24.5 Gt.
This is in line with Saatchi
et al.
(2011)
whose figure for above- and below-ground biomass
carbon was 22-24 Gt for the DRC. Saatchi
et al.
(2011) estimated biomass carbon uncertainty for
most of the DRC’s forests to be between 35 and 50%. Baccini
et al.
(2008) and (2012) do not
include a spatially explicit uncertainty assessment.
A deeper analysis is required to establish which of the datasets that have more recently become
available would be most appropriate to use for the DRC. However, due to time and resource
constraints this was not possible within the scope of the present piece of work. Having shared the
preliminary biomass carbon map based on Baccini
et al.
(2008) with national stakeholders, it was
jointly decided to continue using this one for the present analysis.
To improve the preliminary biomass carbon dataset for the DRC, it will be important to update the
underlying data, to increase its resolution and to validate any resulting map using field plot data
from different sites in the country. National Forest Inventory data would be very helpful to
generate a more recent and validated map of biomass carbon in the DRC.
References
Aveling, C., 2009. The Contribution of Biodiversity to the Maintenance of Forest Goods and
Services. In : The Forests of the Congo Basin. State of the Forests 2008 (eds de Wasseige
C, Devers D, de Marcken P, Eba’a Atyi R, Nasi R, Mayaux P), Office des publications de
l’Union Européenne, Luxembourg.
Baccini, A., Laporte, N., Goetz, S.J., Sun, M., Dong, H., 2008. A first map of tropical Africa’s
above-ground biomass derived from satellite imagery. Environmental Research Letters
3,
045011.
BirdLife International, 2011. Important Bird Areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo (GIS
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Caldecott, J., Miles, L., 2005. World Atlas of Great Apes and their Conservation. UNEP World
Conservation Monitoring Centre. University of California Press, Berkeley, USA.
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areas. UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, UK.
Conservation International, 2011. Biodiversity Hotspots: Eastern Afromontane.
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Scholes R, Ash N), pp. 297-329. Island Press, Washington DC.