Carbon Balance of the reforestation wood production process in Minas Gerais Northern

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the carbon emissions and immobilization balance of the productive process of planted forests in the north of Minas Gerais State, Brazil, having been the data collected in Eucalyptus planting areas. All activities of the production cycle were evaluated: forestry, harvesting, management and transportation. From the average productivity of each activity (machine hours per hectare) and the volume of fuel consumed per power unit per working hour (liters per hour), the fuel consumption per activity (liters per hectare) was calculated during the productive cycle. To determine the amount of CO₂ resulting from fuel combustion, an average of 3.2 kg of CO₂ emitted into the atmosphere per liter of diesel fuel consumed was adopted and that, on average, the carbon content present in the total dry biomass of the 46.3% and one ton of carbon equals 3.67 tons of CO₂. To estimate the carbon balance, the difference between the immobilized carbon per one hectare of planted forest and the sum of all carbon emissions required for its production was calculated. The results indicated that 15.40 t/CO₂ were emitted to produce each hectare of forest and that during this same cycle the forest immobilized 187.35 t/CO₂, representing a positive balance of 171.95 t/CO₂ per hectare. Thus, reforestation in the Minas Gerais northern is an alternative for atmospheric carbon sequestration, contributing to mitigate the effects of climate changes.