Basic density and CO2 sequestration in seven species from the Commemorative Arboretum of 500 Years of Brazil in Alberto Löfgren State Park, São Paulo

Abstract

Carbon sequestration involves the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere, aiming to reduce the greenhouse effect. Wood basic density is a direct part of this process. We selected five trees in each of the following species to determine wood basic density and quantify carbon, both sequestered and fixed, for 10 years: Alchornea sidifolia, Ceiba speciosa, Gallesia integrifolia, Guazuma ulmifolia, Inga marginata, Maclura tinctoria, and Prunus cerasoides. The study was conducted in the Commemorative Arboretum of 500 Years of Brazil in Alberto Löfgren State Park, São Paulo. Using maximum moisture content capture of CO, we studied variations of wood density and CO2, both fixed and sequestered, by an individual tree in the same species and between species. Values of fixed and sequestered CO2 showed variations among species with a high dependence on wood density such that trees with higher amounts of CO2, both fixed and abducted, were also trees that showed the highest increment both in height and diameter (DBH). Based on these metrics, G. ulmifolia, I. marginata, M. tinctoria, and P. cerasoides showed the most potential to sequester carbon. Our calculations showed that planting these four species would result in the sequestration of around 30 tons of carbon per hectare.

Keywords

• carbon sequestration, climate change, global warming, wood basic density