Carbon stock in subtropical native forests in a south american protected area

Abstract

In forests, it is possible to sequester the carbon emitted by industrial activities, although global deforestation has recently increased considerably. Protected Areas make a significant contribution to mitigate negative effects of climate change. In this sense, the aim of this study is to estimate the carbon storage of the different types of subtropical native forests in the Protected Area «Estancia El Caraya» (hereinafter – PA «El Caraya»), located in the Mesopotamian Spinal. The study was carried out in the province of Entre Rios, Argentina. We evaluated the carbon stock in the soil and herbaceous, shrub and tree components of five various environments with native forests as the dominant biome. The soil component represented 81% of the carbon stock in native forest, while the remaining percentage is distributed in trees (11%), shrubs (6%), and herbaceous vegetation (2%). Native forest of PA «El Caraya» stores 0.974 t C × km-2 (3.56 t CO2 × km-2), 39.4% less than the world average in this conservation category. These differences are due to the high heterogeneity of the natural environments in the world due to the very diverse ecological conditions. Proper management practice of subtropical native forests in the Spinal Mesopotamian contributes highly to reduction of carbon in atmosphere. Application of forest management techniques in Protected Areas allows obtaining sustainable forests that maximise the potential of this area.