Carbon Stocks in Savannas
Aboveground Biomass of the
Nhecolandia Pantanal, Brazil1
Ana Helena B. Marozzi Fernandes2
Suzana Maria de Salis3
Fernando Antonio Fernandes4
Sandra Mara Araújo Crispim5
Introduction
The forests play an important role in the global carbon cycle, as a dynamic reservoir of this
element in the terrestrial biosphere. Through the photosynthesis, the plants convert carbon
dioxide (CO2) from atmosphere in vegetal tissues, trapping the carbon into their biomass. Cutting
down and burning these areas promote returning of the carbon stored in vegetation biomass into
the atmosphere, increasing its CO2 concentration by the carbon monoxide (CO) emission. Overall,
the CO2 emissions, associated with land use changes, are the second leading cause of raising the
atmospheric CO2 concentration, just behind the greenhouse gas emissions from the use of fossil
fuel (IPCC, 2007). In Brazil, more than 50% of the total emissions come from land use, which are
associated with replacement of natural forests for husbandry activities (Brazil, 2010).
The need to reducing the CO2 emissions to the atmosphere in attempts to decrease the global
warming effects has raised the interest in studies about the role of the forests to retain
atmospheric CO2, and the potential of the forest ecosystems to mitigate this biological process
(Schlesinger and Lichter, 2001). By and large, there are few studies on inventories and carbon
dynamics all over the world. Regarding to Brazil, there are also few studies, most of them
referring to the Amazon Forest (Sanquetta et al., 2003), being scarce studies on the savanna areas
(Paiva and Faria, 2007).
In the Nhecolandia Pantanal, the forested areas are situated primarily on the highest points on
the land in sites not subject to seasonal flooding. Regionally these areas are known "ridges"
(“cordilheiras”) and can be covered with woody savanna; savanna forest, and semi-deciduous
forest to a less extent (Salis, 2004). According Ratter (1992) woody savanna areas have closed
scrub with tall trees, a dense woody underlayer, and sparse grasses known as “cerrado senso
estrito" in Brazil; savanna forest areas are closed-canopy forests with denser woody underlayers
and taller trees known “cerradão”. According Abdon et al. (2007), these two areas had absolute
dominance in terms of vegetation removal until the year 2002. Such areas have been using for
cultivated pastures establishment.
The purpose of this study was to estimate the savanna aboveground biomass and their carbon
stock of two forested areas in the Nhecolandia Pantanal, Brazil.
1
Part of this article was originally published in Portuguese and can be accessed in
<http://www.cpap.embrapa.br/publicacoes/download.php?arq_pdf=COT68>
2
Agronomist, MSc, Embrapa Pantanal, Caixa Postal 109, CEP 79320-900, Corumbá, MS, Brasil.
[email protected]
3
Biologist, PhD, Embrapa Pantanal, Caixa Postal 109, CEP 79320-900, Corumbá, MS, Brasil. [email protected]
4
Agronomist, PhD, Embrapa Pantanal, Caixa Postal 109, CEP 79320-900, Corumbá, MS, Brasil.
[email protected]
5
Agronomist, MSc, Embrapa Pantanal, Caixa Postal 109, CEP 79320-900, Corumbá, MS, Brasil.
[email protected]
Aboveground Biomass and Carbon Stocks Estimates
The upper layers (tree and shrub layers) biomass and its corresponding carbon stocks were
estimated from two distinct areas: one under savanna forest, and the other under woody
savanna, both located in Rancharia farm (180 34'S and 550 48'W), Nhecolandia Pantanal. The
vegetation survey was carried out through the quadrants method (Brower and Zar, 1984)
sampling 30 points in each area. Individuals from the tree and shrub layers that have DBH
(diameter at breast height or 1.30 m) ≥ 5cm were sampled being this measure and their total
height (Ht) recorded for all of them. A total area of 0.25 ha was sampled at each of the sites
studied.
According to Anderson and Ingram (1993), the estimation of the natural forests aboveground
biomass having a wide range of species can be obtained through an indirect approach by
developing regression equations based on the attributes of the trees local species. The general
regression equations developed by Brown et al. (1989) to tropical forests may be used for areas
that none equations have existed yet. In this study, the biomass estimation was calculated
separately for all the individuals present in each of the sampled areas. Among the equations
proposed by Brown et al. (1989) it was used that recommended by Castro and Kauffman (1998)
for savanna areas due to its greater robustness (R2=0.97):
, in which:
B = biomass; DBH = diameter at breast height or 1.30 m from soil, and Ht = total height.
Carbon stocks were calculated assuming that it represents 50% of dry biomass (Schlesinger,
1997).
In the savanna forest area (Table 1), 30 different tree species were identified. Qualea grandiflora,
Caryocar brasiliense and Lafoensia pacari presented the highest frequencies (respectively with 14;
11 and 10 individuals among the 120 sampled ones). The biomass was estimated at 97.882 Mg.ha1
, and the carbon stock aaat 48.941 Mg.ha-1. For the wood savanna area (Table 2), 30 tree species
were also identified. The most frequent were Xylopodia aromatica and Protium heptaphyllum
(respectively with 24 and 14 individuals among the 120 sampled. The biomass was estimated at
58.695 Mg.ha-1, and the carbon stock at 29.348 Mg.ha-1.
Different estimated values between the studied areas may be ascribed to their own natural
structure modification, since they are vegetation types with different size and density of trees
species. Delitti et al. (2006) observed that differences in the biomass and the carbon stocks
between two similar vegetation types can also happen. The authors have attributed this mainly to
soil and climatic conditions range, different floristic composition and layers form, beyond
disturbances caused by the entrance of fire, among others factors.
The carbon stocks estimated display the CO2 removed from the atmosphere and trapped in the
tree biomass as carbon forms. Assuming that 1 Megagram (Mg) of carbon matches to 3.67 Mg of
CO2 (Ronquim, 2007), the vegetation suppression in the studied areas would match the release of
181.6 and 85.7 Mg of CO2 to the atmosphere per hectare deforested, respectively for areas under
savanna forest and woody savanna. However, these values can be much larger. According to
Fearnside (2008), the full-accounting of the deforestation emissions budget needs to look beyond
the CO2 lost from the trees clearing-burning. It must take into account other ones which the
author calls "backward" emissions, referring to ones will take place due to the decomposition of
wood, soil carbon release, etc.. To conserve forested land in a standing way means to avoid these
releases happen.
Table 1. Aboveground biomass and carbon stocks in savanna forest land,
Rancharia farm (18o34’S and 55o48’W Gr), Nhecolandia, Pantanal.
Sampled area of 0.25 ha.
Speceis
Individuals
number
Aboveground
Biomass
Carbon
stocks
____________
Mg.ha_1_________
Qualea grandiflora
Caryocar brasiliense
Lafoensia pacari
Astronium fraxinifolium
Terminalia argentea
Vatairea macrocarpa
Magonia pubescens
Diptychandra aurantiaca
Protium heptaphyllum
Tabebuia aurea
Aspidosperma tomentosum
Diospyros hispida
Erioteca gracipiles
Gomidesia palustris
Mouriri elliptica
Qualea parviflora
Rourea induta
Bowdichia virgerlioides
Buchenavia tomentosa
Copaifera martii
Luehea paniculata
Salvertia convallariodora
other 12 species with only one
individual sampled
14
11
10
8
8
8
6
4
4
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
7.599
29.269
3.199
5.306
3.354
6.890
14.257
1.922
0.985
3.677
1.520
1.774
0.791
0.122
0.378
1.217
2.045
2.737
3.609
0.245
0.324
1.196
3.800
14.635
1.600
2.653
1.677
3.445
7.129
0.961
0.493
1.839
0.760
0.887
0.396
0.061
0.189
0.609
1.023
1.369
1.805
0.123
0.162
0.598
12
5.466
2.733
Total
120
97.882
48.941
Table 2. Aboveground Biomass and carbon stocks in woody savanna land,
Rancharia farm (18o34’S and 55o48’W Gr), Nhecolandia, Pantanal.
Sampled area of 0.25 ha.
Species
Individuals
number
Aboveground
Biomass
____________
Carbon
stocks
Mg.ha_1__________
Xylopia aromatica
Protium heptaphyllum
Astronium fraxinifolium
Curatella americana
Caryocar brasiliensis
Dipteryx alata
Lafoensia pacari
Qualea parvioflora
Mouriri elliptica
Tabebuia aurea
Alibertia edulis
Chrysophyllum marginatum
Couepia grandiflora
Hymenaea stignocarpa
Terminalia argentea
Cecropia pachystachya
Zanthoxylim hasslerianum
24
14
9
9
6
6
6
6
4
4
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
2.611
10.410
4.914
3.404
6.061
6.652
0.567
0.253
0.414
1.261
0.062
4.095
2.002
4.832
0.858
2.492
1.012
1.306
5.205
2.457
1.702
3.031
3.326
0.284
0.127
0.207
0.631
0.031
2.048
1.001
2.416
0.429
1.246
0.506
other 13 species with only one
individual sampled
13
6.795
3.399
120
58.695
29.348
Total
Forests and Global Warming Mitigation
Keeping the carbon incorporated into natural forests biomass would represent a valuable option
for Brazil to mitigate the greenhouse effect, but this is not currently recognized under the Kyoto
Protocol (Fearnside, 2004). For the first commitment, period from 2008 to 2012, such protocol set
up that the forestry sector only could get carbon credits through the deforestation of degraded
lands or by planting new forest areas, excluding projects to avoid deforestation and forest
management.
There is a strong international pressure to include the forest conservation in the projects aimed at
obtaining carbon credits. The last IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) written
report published in 2007 (IPCC, 2007) points out that reducing and/or avoiding deforestation is
the mitigation action with the greatest and the most immediate impact on the global carbon
stocks in a short run, and hence the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Moreover,
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have recognized the
importance of the input of the greenhouse gases emissions from deforestation in developing
countries for climate change, and the necessity of taking actions in order to reduce them. After a
two year process, the 13th Conference of Parties (C OP 13) held in 2008, made the decision to
"reduce deforestation emissions in the developing world and point the path to stimulate action."
(UNFCCC, 2008). One of the proposals under consideration is the mechanism of Reducing
Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD). Through that procedure, countries such as
Brazil could get carbon credits avoiding deforestation and preserved the natural forests
(Domingos, 2008).
Turning into reality this promise of obtaining credits by the preservation of stored carbon in a
forest there is a lot of work to be done toward reducing uncertainties about the true capacity of
the forests on accumulating carbon (Fearnside, 2008). Thereby, researches related to the biomass
and carbon stocks quantification have been getting more and more attention in the last years.
Unfortunately, until now this proposal has not been made official by the international bodies
about climate change. The COP 17, held in December 2011, has laid the foundations for a
prospective new international agreement in replacement to Kyoto protocol. Thus, it comes up
again the hope that actions towards the conservation of forests may be truly targeted and
encouraged once the definitive terms of the said agreement have not been sealed yet.
This paper intended to provide a first idea over the biomass and carbon stocks quantification in
the Pantanal forested areas. It can represent a starting point to future studies, where these
measurements could be more accurate than the current ones. Some initiatives in this regard have
already existed on the work of Haase and Haase (1995); Salis (2004) and Schöngart et al. (2008).
The authors developed regression equations to the biomass estimation, which were carried out
specifically for wetland plant species. Researches that consider other forests ecosystem
components as soil; leaf litter, and roots can be also necessary in order to evaluate the potential
of those ecosystems in the carbon sequestration.
Final Remarks
In Brazil, when it comes to subjects such as deforestation, forests destruction and alternatives to
stimulate the conservation, all of the attentions turn to the Amazon region. Of course, one cannot
compare the effect of CO2 emissions from the Amazon deforestation to the global warming, nor
the potential for the mitigation it represents compared to others Brazilian regions (including the
Pantanal). However, it is necessary to remember the protection of forested areas may not be seen
merely through the lens of global warming. Beside of the carbon storage, forests provided other
environmental services, such as biodiversity conservation and hydrological cycle regulation,
among others, which are essential to preserve the life on Earth and it cannot (or should not) be
consigned to the background. The payment for maintaining environmental services in the
Pantanal farms, similarly to what has been happening in other parts of the country, can take an
additional incentive to the owners towards environmental conservation.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the Rancharia farm’s owner, who enabled the work running in his property;
Mr. Luiz A Pellegrin for permission to use the photo illustrating this article; the Embrapa Pantanal
staff for the collaboration particularly in the work at the field, and Embrapa Labex Korea for the
opportunity to disclose this paper.
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