Climate Change Sensitivity of Multi-Species Afforestation in Semi-Arid Benin

Florent Noulèkoun, Asia Khamzina, Jesse B. Naab, Ni’matul Khasanah, Meine Van Noordwijk and John P. A. Lamers
Additional contact information
Florent Noulèkoun: Center for Development Research (ZEF), Genscherallee 3, 53113 Bonn, Germany
Asia Khamzina: Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, 145 Anam-Ro, Seongbuk-Gu, Seoul 02841, Korea
Jesse B. Naab: WASCAL Competence Center, 06 P.O. Box 9507 Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Ni’matul Khasanah: World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Southeast Asia Regional Programme, PO Box 161, Bogor 16001, Indonesia
Meine Van Noordwijk: World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Southeast Asia Regional Programme, PO Box 161, Bogor 16001, Indonesia
John P. A. Lamers: Center for Development Research (ZEF), Genscherallee 3, 53113 Bonn, Germany

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 6, 1-23

Abstract: The early growth stage is critical in the response of trees to climate change and variability. It is not clear, however, what climate metrics are best to define the early-growth sensitivity in assessing adaptation strategies of young forests to climate change. Using a combination of field experiments and modelling, we assessed the climate sensitivity of two promising afforestation species, Jatropha curcas L. and Moringa oleifera Lam., by analyzing their predicted climate–growth relationships in the initial two years after planting on degraded cropland in the semi-arid zone of Benin. The process-based WaNuLCAS model (version 4.3, World Agroforestry Centre, Bogor, Indonesia) was used to simulate aboveground biomass growth for each year in the climate record (1981–2016), either as the first or as the second year of tree growth. Linear mixed models related the annual biomass growth to climate indicators, and climate sensitivity indices quantified climate–growth relationships. In the first year, the length of dry spells had the strongest effect on tree growth. In the following year, the annual water deficit and length of dry season became the strongest predictors. Simulated rooting depths greater than those observed in the experiments enhanced biomass growth under extreme dry conditions and reduced sapling sensitivity to drought. Projected increases in aridity implied significant growth reduction, but a multi-species approach to afforestation using species that are able to develop deep-penetrating roots should increase the resilience of young forests to climate change. The results illustrate that process-based modelling, combined with field experiments, can be effective in assessing the climate–growth relationships of tree species.

Keywords: climate sensitivity indices; Jatropha curcas; land degradation; Moringa oleifera; sapling growth; WaNuLCAS; West Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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