Carbon sequestration potential of the soil in the restoration of riparian forests of the Corumbataí basin (SP)

• Ano de defesa: 2018
• Autor(a) principal: Galera, Leonardo de Aro
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: eng
• Instituição de defesa: Biblioteca Digitais de Teses e Dissertações da USP
• Palavras-chave em Português: Bacia do Corumbataí; Cana-de-açúcar; Carbono orgânico do solo; Climate change; Corumbataí basin; Mudanças climáticas; Pastagem; Pasture; Soil organic carbono; Sugarcane
• Link de acesso: http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/64/64135/tde-13112018-114443/

The soil organic matter is the largest carbon reservoir among terrestrial reservoirs and its very important in the regulation of the climate at global scale. Strategies to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks includes afforestation and reforestation and the adoption of recommended management practices (RMPs) like no-till farming and cover crops. The replacement of forestland by agriculture may deplete SOC stocks, by decreasing C input to the soil and increasing the decomposition of organic matter. The Brazilian Forest Code (FC) requires landowners to conserve native vegetation by means of Legal Reserve and Areas of Permanent Preservation (APPs), which includes Hilltop Preservation Areas and Riparian Preservation Areas. It is well known that riparian vegetation provides many ecosystem services, like biodiversity conservation and increasing water availability and quality. Another potential ecosystem service is the mitigation of climate change by accumulating carbon in the vegetation and SOM. The reforestation of riparian zones represents an important opportunity for carbon sequestration and the mitigation of climate change in Brazil, as these restorations are mandatory under the Forest Code. The goal of this study is to contribute with the discussion about the role of riparian forests in the mitigation of climate change. In order to achieve this goal, we compare the SOC stocks of forested riparian areas with the SOC stocks of agricultural areas, namely pasture and sugarcane. Forested soils had an average SOC stock of 44 Mg.ha-1 while pasture had 26 Mg.ha-1 and sugarcane 27 Mg.ha-1. Based on the estimates of the SOC stocks situation after the reforestation of the riparian zones of the 50 sub-watersheds sampled, we could foresee an accretion of 20% of organic carbon in the 0-30 cm soil layer of those areas. We hope that this work contributes to the understanding of the role of the riparian forests in the mitigation of climate change and that the inclusion of the reforestation of those ecosystems in the mitigation strategies options may highlight the urgency in sparing them from devastation