Carbon stock and dynamic in the middle Xingu forests at eastern Amazonia

Abstract

ABSTRACT Studies on the quantification and spatial distribution of stored carbon, as well as the potential for carbon uptake by forests, are of great importance. We assessed the spatial distribution and dynamic of carbon in forest plots in the Middle Xingu. These plots are part of the vegetation monitoring area of the Belo Monte Dam. We estimated the biomass of trees with diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥10 cm using an allometric equation with forest inventory data in the eastern Amazonian region in the Xingu River area. We evaluated the vegetation structure and carbon stock dynamic in 2012, 2014, and 2016, and temporal effects on carbon uptake. The periodic annual increase in carbon was significantly higher between 2012 and 2014 (2.5 Mg ha−1) than between 2014 and 2016 (1.84 Mg ha−1). Plant biomass was highly influenced by the abundance of species with low diameters (between 10 cm and 50 cm DBH). Despite the mortality rate being higher than the recruitment in the second period (2014–2016), we found that the forest did function as a carbon sink but showing increases in carbon emissions.