The objective of this study was to map the spatial distribution of aboveground carbon stock (using Regression-kriging) of arboreal plants in the Atlantic Forest, Semi-arid woodland, and Savanna Biomes in Minas Gerais State, southeastern Brazil. The database used in this study was obtained from 163 forest fragments, totaling 4,146 plots of 1,000 m2 distributed in these Biomes. A geographical model for carbon stock estimation was parameterized as a function of Biome, latitude and altitude. This model was applied over the samples and the residuals generated were mapped based on geostatistical procedures, selecting the exponential semivariogram theoretical model for conducting ordinary Kriging. The aboveground carbon stock was found to have a greater concentration in the north of the State, where the largest contingent of native vegetation is located, mainly the Savanna Biome, with Wooded Savanna and Shrub Savanna phytophysiognomes. The largest weighted averages of carbon stock per hectare were found in the south-center region (48.6 Mg/ha) and in the southern part of the eastern region (48.4 Mg/ha) of Minas Gerais State, due to the greatest predominance of Atlantic Forest Biome forest fragments. The smallest weighted averages per hectare were found in the central (21.2 Mg/ha), northern (20.4 Mg/ha), and northwestern (20.7 Mg/ha) regions of Minas Gerais State, where Savanna Biome fragments are predominant, in the phytophysiognomes Wooded Savanna and Shrub Savanna.
Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America;Department of Forest Science, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil;Department of Engineering, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil;Department of Forest Science, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil;Department of Forest Science, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Recommended Citation:
Henrique Ferraco Scolforo,Jose Roberto Soares Scolforo,Carlos Rogerio Mello,et al. Spatial Distribution of Aboveground Carbon Stock of the Arboreal Vegetation in Brazilian Biomes of Savanna, Atlantic Forest and Semi-Arid Woodland[J]. PLOS ONE,2015-01-01,10(6)