Spatial time-series measurements of forest degradation rates are important for estimating national greenhouse gas emissions but have been challenging for open forests and woodlands. This lack of quantitative data on forest degradation rates, location and biomass is an important constraint to developing national REDD+ policy. In Malawi, and in most countries in Africa, most assessments of forest cover change for carbon emissions monitoring tend to report only deforestation in the public forest estate managed by the government, even when important forest degradation also occurs in agricultural areas, such as customary forests and other tree-based systems. This study has resulted in: (a) a new robust forest map for Malawi, (b) spatial and quantitative measurements of both forest degradation and deforestation, and (c) a demonstration of the approach through the introduction of a tool that maps across the broad landscape of forests and trees outside of forests. The results can be used to support REDD+ National Forest Monitoring Systems. This analysis produces new estimates of landscape-wide deforestation rates between 2000–2009 (22,410 ha yr⁻¹) and 2009–2015 (38,937 ha yr⁻¹). We further produce new estimates of the rate of forest degradation between 2000–2009 (42,961 ha yr⁻¹) and 2009–2015 (71,878 ha yr⁻¹). The contribution of these new tools and estimates to capacities for calculating carbon emissions are important, increasing prospects for full REDD+ readiness across semi-arid Africa.

Forest ecosystems are vital to global carbon cycling as sinks or sources, while fast-growing, adaptable pines such as P. kesiya and P. oocarpa are central to national carbon sequestration efforts. This study was aimed at determining biomass accumulation variations and carbon stock dynamics between these two species at the age of 16 years in the Viphya Plantations, a prominent timber producing area in northern Malawi. Following the systematic sampling, forest inventory data was collected from 20 circular plots of 0.05 ha each. Above and below ground biomass was estimated using generic allometric models for pine species. Findings indicate that there were significant (P<0.001) differences in biomass accumulation and carbon sequestration between P. oocarpa and P. kesiya plantations. P. oocarpa accumulated more biomass (298.86±12.09 Mgha^-1) than P. kesiya (160.13±23.79 Mgha^-1). Furthermore, P. oocarpa plantation had a higher annual carbon sequestration (32.22±1.30 tCO₂e/ha/yr) as compared to P. kesiya plantation (17.26±2.56 tCO₂e/ha/yr). In addition, the uncertainty was less than 1% and fit within the IPCC’s recommended range (<15%). Therefore, the study has demonstrated that species selection should match management objectives: P. oocarpa maximizes short-to-medium term carbon sequestration and productivity, while P. kesiya supports long-term soil carbon stability. Hence, integrating both optimizes carbon benefits.