Silvicultural opportunities for increasing carbon stock in restoration of Atlantic forests in Brazil

Background:

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest has suffered significant reduction due to deforestation for urbanization and agriculture expansion. To address this issue, restoration plantations with native tree species have been identified as a promising solution to rebuild the forest habitat and promote carbon sequestration. In particular, high input silviculture, which involves intensive fertilization and weed control similar to those applied in commercial production forest plantations, has been shown to increase productivity and accelerate the forest restoration process.

Goals and methods:

This paper evaluates the effects of two contrasting silvicultural systems, namely "traditional" (low input) and "intensive" (high input), on carbon stocks of a restoration plantation in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Specifically, it compare the carbon stock of the planted forest ecosystem under both silvicultural systems with a typical mature Atlantic forest remnant as a representative reference of the regional biome. In addition, it provide insights into the potential for carbon sequestration in forest restoration plantations and the impact of different silvicultural approaches on carbon stocks

conclusions and Takeaways:

The research findings indicate that intensive silviculture led to a more than three-fold increase in carbon stock compared to traditional silviculture, with the intensive approach reaching 12.8% of the carbon stock stored in a mature forest, as opposed to 3.8% for traditional silviculture. This suggests that intensive silviculture can effectively accelerate forest restoration and carbon sequestration, making it a practicable and highly responsive approach for promoting ecosystem recovery and mitigating the impacts of deforestation in the Atlantic Forest biome.