The carbon sink of tropical seasonal forests in southeastern Brazil can be under threat

Tropical forests have played an important role as a carbon sink over time. However, the carbon dynamics of Brazilian non-Amazon tropical forests are still not well understood. Here, we used data from 32 tropical seasonal forest sites, monitored from 1987 to 2020 (mean site monitoring length, ~15 yea...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Maia, Vinícius Andrade, Santos, Alisson Borges Miranda, Aguiar-Campos, Natália de, Souza, Cléber Rodrigo de, Oliveira, Matheus Coutinho Freitas de, Coelho, Polyanne Aparecida, Morel, Jean Daniel, Costa, Lauana Silva da, Farrapo, Camila Laís, Fagundes, Nathalle Cristine Alencar, Paula, Gabriela Gomes Pires de, Santos, Paola Ferreira, Gianasi, Fernanda Moreira, Silva, Wilder Bento da, Oliveira, Fernanda de, Girardelli, Diego Teixeira, Araújo, Felipe de Carvalho, Vilela, Taynara Andrade, Pereira, Rafaella Tavares, Silva, Lidiany Carolina Arantes da, Menino, Gisele Cristina de Oliveira, Garcia, Paulo Oswaldo, Fontes, Marco Aurélio Leite, Santos, Rubens Manoel dos
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2020
Country:Brasil
Institution:Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA)
Repository:Repositório Institucional da UFLA
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.ufla.br:1/48168
Online Access:https://repositorio.ufla.br/handle/1/48168
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Brazilian rainforests - Carbon
Carbon sink
Tropical seasonal forests
Sumidouro de carbono
Florestas tropicais sazonais
Description
Summary:Tropical forests have played an important role as a carbon sink over time. However, the carbon dynamics of Brazilian non-Amazon tropical forests are still not well understood. Here, we used data from 32 tropical seasonal forest sites, monitored from 1987 to 2020 (mean site monitoring length, ~15 years) to investigate their long-term trends in carbon stocks and sinks. Our results highlight a long-term decline in the net carbon sink (0.13 Mg C ha−1 year−1) caused by decreasing carbon gains (2.6% by year) and increasing carbon losses (3.4% by year). The driest and warmest sites are experiencing the most severe carbon sink decline and have already moved from carbon sinks to carbon sources. Because of the importance of the terrestrial carbon sink for the global climate, policies are needed to mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases and to restore and protect tropical seasonal forests.

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