New Forests

, Volume 43, Issue 3, pp 287–301 | Cite as

Biomass estimations in forests of different disturbance history in the Atlantic Forest of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Article
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Abstract

Tropical forests are large reservoirs of biomass and there is a need for information on existing carbon stocks in these ecosystems and especially the effects of logging on these stocks. Reliable estimates of aboveground biomass stocks within the Atlantic Forest are rarely available. Past human disturbance is an important factor affecting forest structure variation and biomass accumulation among tropical forest ecosystems. To support the efforts of improving the quality of estimations of the current and future biomass carbon storage capacity of this disturbed forest region we tested a non-experimental small scale approach to compare the aboveground tree biomass (AGB) of forest sites. Three sites with known disturbance histories have been investigated: complete cut down, selective logging and conservation since 70 years. The woody plant community (dbh ≥ 10 cm) was censused and canopy openness in conjunction with leaf area index has been obtained by hemispherical photographs at each site. Estimates of aboveground tree biomass have been carried out using an allometric equation for moist tropical forests already applied for the study area. Additionally, a FAO standard equation has been employed for crosschecking our results. We identified significant differences in recent AGB of the three compared forest sites. With 313 (±48 Mg ha−1) the highest AGB-values have been found in the preserved forest area within a National Park, followed by 297 (±83) Mg ha−1 at the former clear cut site. Lowest AGB has been calculated for the area with past selective logging: 204 (±38) Mg ha−1. Values calculated with the FAO standard equation showed the same trend but at a lower AGB level. Our results based an a small scale approach suggest that biomass productivity can recover in a forest which was completely cleared 60 years ago to reach AGB values up to a level that almost represents the situation in a preserved forest. Selective logging may slow down AGB accumulation and the effect is measurable after several decades.

Keywords

Aboveground live biomass Tropical forests Atlantic Forest Land use Forest succession 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Jens Wesenberg for kindly providing the floristic and forest structure data for the national park area. We are thankful to Christian Wirth and anonymous reviewers for valuable comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. Furthermore we would like to thank the national park “Serra dos Orgãos”, the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) and the National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq) for issuing research permission. We are grateful to the “Reserva Ecológica de Guapiaçu” (REGUA) and the whole staff, especially to Mr. Nicholas Locke for logistic support and the permission to work on the property. For funding we are thankful to the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). This study was conducted within the framework of the Brazilian-German joint research project “Climate change, landscape dynamics, land use and natural resources in the Atlantic Forest of Rio de Janeiro” (FKZ 01LB0801B).

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© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Institute for Biology IUniversity of LeipzigLeipzigGermany
  2. 2.Department of Physical Geography and Geo-Ecology, Institute for GeographyUniversity of LeipzigLeipzigGermany

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