Borgo, Marília (SPVS, Rua Gutemberg, 296, Batel, 80420-030,
Curitiba, Pa; Curitiba, PR, 80420-030, Brazil; Phone: 0412420280; Fax:
0412420280; Email: maborgo@spvs.org.br)
M. Borgo*, G.
Tiepolo, D.N. Cardoso, I.A. Andrade
The
Atlantic Rainforest Restoration Project (ARRP – Cachoeira Natural Reserve)
implemented by Wildlife Research and Environmental Education Society (SPVS) in
a partnership with The Nature Conservancy and General Motors has a current area
of 8,600.0 ha and it is located at Paraná state, Brazil, within Environmental
Protection Area of Guaraqueçaba. A vegetation map for the ARRP area was done
and several types of forests and their sucessional stages and other land uses
were identified and classified. Vegetation stratified sampling was done using
forest coverage (Submontane Forest, Wetland forest, Advanced/medium, Medium and
Young Secondary Forest, according to the period that the original forest
coverage had been disturbed). Another sampling based on soil and vegetation
maps was conducted in the same plots used in the simple stratification. In
addition to those forest strata, other non-forest classes such as pasture,
herbaceous and shrubs vegetation were also included as part of the carbon
inventory, but temporary plots were used for those strata. The methodology
chosen for the carbon inventory was the one developed by Winrock International
and adapted to the project conditions. For the vegetation classes of pasture/shrub
and open areas destructive sampling was carried out in 24 plots. The total
aboveground biomass for non-forest strata in ARRP was 3732 t C. The total
carbon in the forest strata (excluding soil) was 764.847 t C. The overall
weighted mean of total carbon content of forests is 88 t C ha-1, 77 % of which
in the aboveground biomass. Total dead wood carbon represents about 6.1% of the
aboveground carbon biomass. Small trees (dbh greater than 5 cm) represented 1.5%
of total biomass and roots were 20% of the aboveground biomass, and represents
15% of the total amount. Considering just aboveground biomass, there is a total
pool of 577,555 t C. Coefficients of variation for aboveground total carbon
content by strata were relatively low except by the lowland forest. The
coefficients range from 24-33% (lowland – 91%). Seventeen forest strata were
distinguished by combining soil classes and vegetation types. Compared to the
simple stratification, the total number of plots is 16.5% lower. The
soil-vegetation stratification is better because it combines specific
environmental conditions of forest and soil classes and it reduces the
variation within each vegetation class. The total carbon in the forest strata
using the stratification based on vegetation and soil maps (excluding soil) was
764,812 t C. Total aboveground biomass was 589,326 and mean carbon stocks for
aboveground biomass ranged from 42-135 t C ha-1. Comparing aboveground biomass between soil and
soil-vegetation stratification, the best sample was at the second method, with
increases around 2% (or 11,700 t C) in the total aboveground in the inventory.
As a result of the carbon inventory conducted in the ARRP it was possible to
quantify the amount of carbon stored with a good level of precision (p=0.05).
The inventory was used to estimate the differences between the with- and
without-project carbon pools and is the primary basis for determination of
project GHG benefits. The results of this effort will help to improve and
develop models to measure and monitor carbon stock in heterogeneous landscapes,
such as the ones found in the Atlantic Rainforest. This project was developed
with the funds from Initiative for Climate Action Project Research of
Department of Energy (DOE) and National Energy Technology Laboratory of USA
(DE-FC26-01NT41151).