Evaluation of the Capacity of Agroforestry of Cocoa Trees in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Reduction

Abstract

The emission of greenhouse gases into the earth’s atmosphere has been credited as the major cause of climate change which is being experienced all over the world. Climate change mitigation is one of the strategies that have been suggested as a way of stabilising  the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This study assessed the capacity of agroforestry of cocoa trees in reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide. The carbon content in the cocoa plant variables made up of bean, litter, leaf and podhusk were determined in the laboratory through standard procedure. The laboratory results were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. The study showed the magnitude order of carbon storage in cocoa agroforestry as cocoa bean (2.86 kg) > pod husk (2.73 kg) > cocoa litter (2.65kg) > cocoa leaves (2.62 kg) > soil (1.14 kg)..The ability of cocoa and forest soils to retain nitrogen, leaf and litterfall to stock more carbon proved that cocoa agroforestry has a higher potential of mitigating climate change in the tropical region. The study recommended the adoption of agroforestry systems which are capable of sequestering carbon as a means of addressing the challenge of climate change.