title: Charcoal production in the Mopane woodlands of Mozambique: what are the trade-offs with other ecosystem services?
abstract: African woodlands form a major part of the tropical grassy biome and support the livelihoods of millions of rural and urban people. Charcoal production in particular is a major economic activity, but its impact on other ecosystem services is little studied. To address this, our study collected biophysical and social datasets, which were combined in ecological production functions, to assess ecosystem service provision and its change under different charcoal production scenarios in Gaza Province, southern Mozambique. We found that villages with longer histories of charcoal production had experienced declines in wood suitable for charcoal, firewood and construction, and tended to have lower perceived availabilities of these services. Scenarios of future charcoal impacts indicated that firewood and woody construction services were likely to trade-off with charcoal production. However, even under the most extreme charcoal scenario, these services were not completely lost. Other provisioning services, such as wild food, medicinal plants and grass, were largely unaffected by charcoal production. To reduce the future impacts of charcoal production, producers must avoid increased intensification of charcoal extraction by avoiding the expansion of species and sizes of trees used for charcoal production. This is a major challenge to land managers and policymakers in the area.This article is part of the themed issue 'Tropical grassy biomes: linking ecology, human use and conservation'.
authors: School of GeoSciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK e.woollen@ed.ac.uk.
authors: Emily
authors: 0000-0002-6504-4835
authors: E
authors: Woollen
authors: School of GeoSciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors: Casey M
authors: 0000-0002-1802-0128
authors: CM
authors: Ryan
authors: Faculty of Agronomy and Forest Engineering, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, Mozambique.
authors: Sophia
authors: S
authors: Baumert
authors: School of GeoSciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors: Frank
authors: F
authors: Vollmer
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
authors: Isla
authors: I
authors: Grundy
authors: School of GeoSciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors: Janet
authors: J
authors: Fisher
authors: Faculty of Agronomy and Forest Engineering, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, Mozambique.
authors: Jone
authors: J
authors: Fernando
authors: Ce3C-Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors: Ana
authors: A
authors: Luz
authors: Faculty of Agronomy and Forest Engineering, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, Mozambique.
authors: Natasha
authors: 0000-0002-5369-5905
authors: N
authors: Ribeiro
authors: Faculty of Agronomy and Forest Engineering, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, Mozambique.
authors: Sá N
authors: SN
authors: Lisboa
mesh_terms: D002606:Charcoal / Q000032:analysis* / Q000191:economics; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000191:economics*; D065948:Grassland; D009073:Mozambique; D014934:Wood / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D002606:Charcoal
keywords: African woodland; ecological production function; land cover; non-timber forest products; woodland structure