Carbon Sequestration Potentials of Neem Plant (Azadirachta Indica A. Juss.) Along Lokoja-Okene Road for Climate Change Resilience in Kogi State, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.67601/njbls.v3i2b.92Keywords:
Carbon Storage, Mitigation, Tree metrics, Distance, Bark, Wood, LeafAbstract
In recent years, climate change influenced by increased emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere has generated serious environmental concerns globally. It is against this backdrop, that this study was carried out to evaluate the carbon sequestration potentials of Azadirachta indica along Lokoja-Okene road, Kogi State, Nigeria. Bark, wood, and leaf samples were collected from three different locations namely; Irepeni, Irapana and Osara along Lokoja- Okene highway. The plant tissues were collected at distances of 0, 20, 40, and 100 m from the road. Carbon content was determined using the Walkley and Black wet oxidation method. Data were analyzed using appropriate statistical software and tools. The result revealed that the highest percentage carbon content across all locations were recorded in the bark (62.27 ± 2.88, 58.13±2.82 and 60.08 ± 2.68 for Irepeni, Irapana and Osara respectively). While, the lowest percentage carbon content were recorded in the leaves (28.24±2.89, 25.98±2.89 and 40.53±3.01 for Irepeni, Irapana and Osara respectively). Also, carbon content was influenced by distance from the road, with the highest and lowest percentage carbon content generally recorded at 0 and 100 m respectively, within plant tissues and across the study locations. Tree height showed a negative correlation with percentage carbon content in bark (-0.423) and wood (-0.379), while DBH showed a positive correlation with bark and wood with correlation coefficient (r) values of 0.809 and 0.747 respectively. The study concludes that A. indica has appreciable carbon storage potential when compared to other studied tree species and can contribute to roadside vegetation management and climate change mitigation. It was however recommended that A. indica should be massively cultivated close to the roadside so as to capture more carbon and to serve as a buffer between carbon pollution and other edible crops in an agroforestry system.
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