Do carbon stocks and floristic diversity of tropical homegardens vary along an elevational gradient and based on holding size in central Kerala, India?

Abstract Homegarden (HG) agroforestry combines biological carbon (C) sequestration with biodiversity conservation outcomes. Although C stocks and species richness of HGs vary along elevational gradients and as a function of holding sizes, there is no consensus on the nature and magnitude of such variations. Field studies were conducted in the Western Ghats region of central Kerala, India (180 homesteads in 20 selected panchayats), to evaluate the effects of elevation (near sea level to 1938 m) and garden size (162–10,117 m2)