Ao. Isichei et al., FUEL CHARACTERISTICS AND EMISSIONS FROM BIOMASS BURNING AND LAND-USE CHANGE IN NIGERIA, Environmental monitoring and assessment, 38(2-3), 1995, pp. 279-289
Nigeria is one of the 13 low-latitude countries that have significant
biomass burning activities. Biomass burning occurs in moist savanna, d
ry forests, and forest plantations. Fires in the forest zone are assoc
iated with slash-and-burn agriculture; the areal extent of burning is
estimated to be 80% of the natural savanna. In forest plantations, clo
se to 100% of litter is burned. Current estimates of emissions from la
nd-use change are based on a 1976 national study and extrapolations fr
om it. The following non-carbon dioxide (CO2) trace gas emissions were
calculated from savanna burning: methane (CH4), 145 gigagrams (Gg); c
arbon monoxide (GO), 3831 Gg; nitrous oxide (N2O), 2 Gg; and nitrogen
oxides (NOx), 49 Gg. Deforestation rates in forests and woodlands are
300 x 10(3) ha (kilohectare, or kha) and 200 x kha per year, respectiv
ely. Trace gas emissions from deforestation were estimated to be 300 G
g CH4, 2.4 Gg N2O, and 24 Gg NOx. CO2 emissions from burning, decay of
biomass, and long-term emissions from soil totaled 125 561 Gg. These
estimates should be viewed as preliminary, because greenhouse gas emis
sion inventories from burning, deforestation, and landuse change requi
re two components: fuel load and emission factors. Fuel load is depend
ent on the areal extent of various land uses, and the biomass stocking
and some of these data in Nigeria are highly uncertain.