Carbon accumulation in the soil and biomass of macauba palm commercial plantations

• Published in: Biomass & bioenergy Vol. 190; p. 107384
• Main Authors: Moreira, Sandro Lucio Silva, Santos, Rosemery Alesandra Firmino dos, Paes, Ésio de Castro, Bahia, Mylena Lacerda, Cerqueira, Alan Emanuel Silva, Parreira, Douglas Silva, Imbuzeiro, Hewlley Maria Acioli, Fernandes, Raphael Bragança Alves
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01-11-2024
• Subjects: Acrocomia aculeata; Carbon management index; Carbon sequestration; Organic matter lability; Subsurface carbon; Organic matter lability; Acrocomia aculeata; Carbon sequestration; Carbon management index; Subsurface carbon
• ISSN: 0961-9534
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biombioe.2024.107384

Commercial cultivation of the Macauba palm is growing due to its agro-energy potential. This study quantified carbon stock in two macauba plantations (4.8 and 9.0 years old), considering carbon stored in soil and biomass. We assessed total organic carbon (TOC) stocks in labile (EOC and LF-C) and non-labile (NL-C) soil fractions, comparing these with a forest regenerating for over 30 years. Soil samples were collected within the palm plantation (rows and inter-rows) and the forest area at five depths (0–10, 10–20, 20–40, 40–60, and 60–100 cm). The impact of plantation age and sampling position on TOC stocks and organic matter fractions across different soil layers (0–100 cm) was assessed. The Carbon Management Index (CMI) was calculated to evaluate carbon recovery. Plantation age and sampling position influenced soil TOC stocks across all depths up to 1 m. Higher TOC and NL-C soil stocks were observed in the older plantation (9.0 years) and inter-row. EOC and LF-C fractions varied by soil layer. The inter-row region of the 9.0-year-old plantation exhibited higher carbon recovery based on the CMI. Over 4.2 years of palm cultivation (between 4.8 and 9.0 years), carbon accumulation in biomass and soil reached 75.36 Mg C ha−1. These findings underscore the potential of commercial macauba plantations to enhance soil carbon stocks rapidly, particularly in inter-row areas. Plantations younger than a decade surpassed the soil carbon stock of a forest regenerating for over 30 years, highlighting significant environmental benefits of macauba cultivation, including soil and biomass carbon sequestration.
•The age of macauba cultivation and the sampling position determine the soil organic carbon stocks up to a depth of 1 m.•Macauba cultivation can sequester more soil carbon in under a decade than a forest with 30+ years of natural regeneration.•The commercial cultivation of adult macauba can increase carbon accumulation in biomass and soil by 17.94 Mg C ha−1 year−1.