Carbon dynamics in slash-and-burn agriculture and land use alternatives of the humid forest zone in Cameroon

One of the environmental consequences of slash-and-burn farming is the loss of forest system carbon which in turn contributes to atmospheric change and impacts upon global climates. Before alternative land use systems can be evaluated in terms of carbon sequestration, baseline measurements of carbon dynamics resulting from current practices are required. We have characterized the carbon stocks in six slash-and-burn chronosequences in the humid forest zone of Cameroon. During the course of this study, three alternatives to slash-and-burn were identified: commercial cassava cultivation, improved forest conversion, and stratified agroforestry