Prognosis of the Diameter Distribution and Carbon Stock in a Secondary Atlantic Forest by Markov Chain

Abstract

Growth and yield modeling at the diameter distribution level is an important tool to understand forest dynamics and to predict whether a forest will act as a CO2 emissions source or sink. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to determine the diameter distribution and carbon stock of a forest fragment using the Markov chain to evaluate the impact of growth dynamics on forest carbon capture. Twenty plots of 10x50m were inventoried, between 2010 and 2015, counting the stems with dbh > 5 cm. Diameter distribution was projected for 2015 and 2020, considering the whole fragment and the ecological groups (pioneer and non-pioneer tree species). The volume was determined using allometric equation while biomass and carbon was determined by multiplying the volume by the basic wood density and the carbon content, respectively. The diameter distribution estimated for the fragment and ecological groups did not differ statistically from the values observed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (p-value < 0.05). The number of stems ha-1 estimated in the fragment was from 1,692 in 2015 to 1,841 in 2020. For the pioneer and non-pioneer species, the number of stems ha-1 was from 476 and 1,203 in 2015 to 472 and 1,362 in 2020, respectively. The carbon stock increased 5.69 MgC ha-1, with the greater contribution coming from the non-pioneer species. Therefore, it was concluded that the diameter distribution would remain “J-inverted” and the forest fragment would continue to act as a carbon sink over the coming years.

Analysis of Ice Storm Impact on and Post-Disaster Recovery of Typical Subtropical Forests in Southeast China

“…Forest stock volume is one of the best predictors of biomass at the stand level [36]. Moreover, as an important tool in the understanding of forest dynamics, it can be used to predict whether a forest will act as a CO 2 emission source or sink [37]. Therefore, the state of regional forests can be reliably described by using the forest stock volume, and the forest stock volume can also be used as the ground verification data for remote-sensing parameters.…”

Infestação de lianas após ocorrência de incêndio florestal em uma floresta estacional semidecidual com Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze

“…A distribuição diamétrica de árvores e lianas na A1 e na A2, considerando todos os fustes/hastes do fragmento por classe de diâmetro, foi comparada pelo teste de aderência de Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S), a 5% de significância, a fim de indicar se a distribuição diamétrica da A1 (tratamento: frequência estimada) e da A2 (controle: frequência observada) é igual ou diferente estatisticamente (REIS, 2017;VILLANOVA et al, 2018). O mesmo teste de aderência foi aplicado para os grupos ecológicos das espécies arbóreas, dividindo-as em pioneiras e não pioneiras, secundárias iniciais, secundárias tardias, e também espécies exóticas, sendo as espécies sem classificação excluídas do teste.…”