Potential of agroforestry techniques in mitigating CO2 emissions in Nigeria:: some preliminary estimates

This paper attempts some preliminary evaluation of the potential of agroforestry techniques as a forestry strategy for controlling atmospheric CO2-a critical greenhouse gas. The end-use scenario that attempts to meet the wood and related needs of the nation while mitigating climate change was adopted. The net emission estimate for the Forestry Sector in 1990-the base year for the study-was 9.5 million tonnes of carbon (MtC). Based on this figure, projections into the year 2030 gave cumulative net emissions of 427.4 and 580.5 MtC at 1.3% and 2.6% deforestation rates respectively. However, mitigating with agroforestry techniques, assuming that about 76% of the estimated 39.5 million ha of farmland in the country is committed to a variety of agroforestry systems, the results show that a total of 1530 MtC can be withdrawn from the atmosphere by the year 2030. The paper concludes that there is a reasonable case for the use of agroforestry techniques in the country, both as a means of sustaining soil productivity and as a strategy for mitigating climate change.