Carbon Stock Recovery Costs in Brazil's Atlantic Forest, 10-60 Year Chronosequence

60-year chronosequences of 12 naturally regenerating forests and 13 restoration plantations show plantations accumulate 50% more above-ground carbon but are 60% less cost-effective. The dataset, produced by Universidade de São Paulo researchers, compares carbon stocks and costs against 5 reference forests. Results suggest carbon markets alone have limited potential to up-scale restoration in this biome.

Use Cases

• Compare cost-effectiveness of natural regeneration vs. tree plantations for carbon farming based on implementation and land opportunity costs.
• Model carbon credit pricing viability for restoration projects based on measured kgC per US$ accumulation rates.
• Assess long-term recovery of total carbon stocks in restored forests relative to reference forest baselines.
• Analyze the relationship between soil clay content and soil carbon stock recovery in different restoration approaches.

Strengths

• Based on a chronosequence spanning 10 to 60 years, providing longitudinal insights.
• Compares two restoration management types (natural regeneration and plantations) against reference forests across 30 field sites.
• Includes both implementation and land opportunity costs for a total cost-effectiveness analysis.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the specific study sites within Brazil's Atlantic Forest.

Provenance

Source

Pedro H. S. Brancalion, Universidade de São Paulo

Collection Method

Field study based on chronosequences of restored and reference forests.

Time Range

Chronosequence covers 10 to 60 years of stand development.

Geography

Brazil's Atlantic Forest