Despite the increasing interest in the role of African savannah and woodlands on the global carbon cycle, little is known about the above‐ground biomass (AGB) and the factors affecting it in these ecosystems in West Africa. We estimated AGB in different vegetation types of a forest–savannah mosaic in Togo, and we investigated the relationship between AGB, structural and diversity attributes. We also assessed the effects of using the ≥5 or ≥10 cm diameter threshold on AGB estimates. We sampled tree diameter, height and species of all trees ≥5 cm diameter following standardised protocols in 160 plots of 50 × 20 m (50 × 10 m for riparian). Above‐ground biomass (AGB) (all trees ≥5 cm diameter) ranged from 6.2 Mg/ha in shrub savannah to 292 Mg/ha in riparian forest and showed significant differences between vegetation types. Differences in AGB were related to structural attributes, with little influence of diversity attributes. The effects of minimum tree diameter size (5 or 10 cm) on AGB estimates were negligible. At a landscape level, closed‐canopy and open forests stored important quantities of carbon. We highlight the importance of the forest–savannah mosaic as a large carbon pool, which could be released if converted to another land cover type.

中文翻译：

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西非多哥森林大草原马赛克中的地上生物量和植被属性

尽管人们越来越关注非洲大草原和林地在全球碳循环中的作用，但对地上生物量（AGB）及其在西非这些生态系统中的影响因素知之甚少。我们估算了多哥森林-热带草原马赛克的不同植被类型中的AGB，并研究了AGB，结构和多样性属性之间的关系。我们还评估了使用直径≥5或≥10 cm的阈值对AGB估计的影响。我们按照标准化协议，在160×50×20 m（河岸为50×10 m）的样地中，对直径≥5 cm的所有树木的树径，高度和种类进行采样。地上生物量（所有直径≥5 cm的树木）的变化范围从灌木大草原的6.2 Mg / ha到河岸森林的292 Mg / ha，并且植被类型之间存在显着差异。AGB的差异与结构属性有关，而多样性属性的影响很小。最小树木直径大小（5或10厘米）对AGB估算的影响可以忽略不计。在景观层面，封闭的林冠和开阔的森林存储大量的碳。我们强调了森林大草原马赛克作为大型碳库的重要性，如果将其转换为另一种土地覆被类型，则可以释放出来。