Avoided deforestation with sustainable benefits (ADSB) in Indonesia: Deforestation: will agroforests fall through the cracks?

Old-growth forestlandscapes are rich in biodiversity and may store about 350-400 t C / ha, with much of the carbon in the biggest, oldest trees. When such forests are clear-felled the above ground carbon stock goes back to zero either directly due to fire or slowly due to decomposition of dead wood. Young vegetation, either crops or tree plantations may have relatively high growth rates, but even at a high carbon accumulation rat e of 5 t C / (ha/y ear) it takes a long time to restore the losses. Selective logging, targeting the large trees, can substantially reduce the carbon stock of the forests, partly due to damage to trees not cut. Within the 'logged-over' forest the carbon stock can be as lo w as 1 00 t C/ha or still as high as 250 t C/ha. Subsequent logging can continue t o reduce carbon stocks and/or open up the forest t o the more rapid spread of fire, which tends to kill the smaller trees and destroy many of the larger trees as well. Some vegetation that has only 50 t C/ha still meets the technical definition of forest based on the crown cover of trees. On the other hand, vegetation with farmer-grown trees and spontaneous tree establishment in between ('complex agroforest') may store more than 70 t C/ha yet such vegetation is not always formally considered to be a 'forest'.

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