Expressing carbon storage in economic terms: The case of the upper Omo Gibe Basin in Ethiopia

Terrestrial carbon storage is important for planning decisions regarding climate change. Therefore, modelling the spatial distribution of carbon storage and valuation can help restore the sustainability of the ecosystems. This study aimed at showing the spatial and temporal variations in carbon storage and valuation in the upper Omo Gibe Basin. Land use/ cover and carbon pool data based on field data collection and laboratory analyses supported by GIS and remote sensing were used. The Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) software was used for modelling carbon storage. The Global voluntary carbon market price and Tropical Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) data were used for describing carbon storage in economic terms. ANOVA was carried out to detect significant differences in carbon stock correlation with parameters. The results show that the annual carbon stock declined by 0.37 t/ha and the carbon market declined from USD 25.04 billion in 1988 to USD 24.01 billion in 2018. The highest loss of carbon storage and valuation was found in forest land followed by grazing land. Moreover, carbon stock was positively correlated with NDVI and habitat quality (p 0.05). Slopes did not affect carbon stock (p 0.05). This study helps promote and enhance carbon trading.