Volume, Biomass, and Carbon Estimates for Commercial Tree Species in a Managed Forest: A Case Study in the Bolivian Amazon

Flora Magdaline Benitez Romero; José Ambrosio Ferreira Neto; Zenobio Abel Gouvêa Perelli da Gama e Silva; Laércio Antônio Gonçalves Jacovine; Santiago Ivan Sagredo Velasquez; Richard Andres Benitez Romero; Sabina Cerruto Ribeiro; Guilherme Silverio Aquino de Souza; Crismeire Isbaex; Rosana Barbosa de Castro Lopes; Fernanda Machado Ferreira; Philip Martin Fearnside

doi:10.3390/f15040652

journal article Open Access Apr 02, 2024

Volume, Biomass, and Carbon Estimates for Commercial Tree Species in a Managed Forest: A Case Study in the Bolivian Amazon

Flora Magdaline Benitez Romero

José Ambrosio Ferreira Neto Zenobio Abel Gouvêa Perelli da Gama e Silva

Laércio Antônio Gonçalves Jacovine Santiago Ivan Sagredo Velasquez Richard Andres Benitez Romero Sabina Cerruto Ribeiro Guilherme Silverio Aquino de Souza Crismeire Isbaex Rosana Barbosa de Castro Lopes Fernanda Machado Ferreira Philip Martin Fearnside

Forests Vol. 15 No. 4 pp. 652 · MDPI AG

View at Publisher Save 10.3390/f15040652

Abstract

Tropical forest management has a potential role in forest conservation if it is sustainable. This study of a forest under management in Bolivian Amazonia strongly suggests that the management project is not sustainable and that no potential changes in management would be likely to make it so. In a 216.41 ha harvested area, 278 commercial trees from 10 families, 15 genera, and 15 species were measured. The density of commercial species with diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 50 cm was 1.28 trees ha−1, and the harvestable commercial volume was 12.40 m3 ha−1. Due to market restrictions, the actual amounts harvested were much lower: 96 trees were harvested with commercial boles totaling 2.7 m3 ha−1. Of the total impact on biomass and carbon (above- and belowground), the logs removed from the area represented only 13.4%, while 86.6% was from losses in the forest as follows: 14.5% from the stumps, crowns, and roots of harvested trees (DBH ≥ 50 cm) plus 72.1% from the trees (DBH ≥ 10 cm) in the forest lost to roads, log landings, and skid tracks and the gap openings caused by felling the harvested trees. The estimated expenses exceeded the gross revenue of the management company (USD 519.15 ha−1), a fact confirmed by the company’s subsequent bankruptcy. The project’s low harvest intensity reduces the environmental impact per hectare but increases the impact per cubic meter of wood harvested because producing a given volume of wood requires disturbing a larger area and because more kilometers of access roads and skid tracks have to be installed to extract a given volume of wood. Because many costs are fixed regardless of harvest intensity, small harvest volume can render such projects financially unfeasible, increasing the likelihood that they will be abandoned and not provide long-term “sustainable” forest protection. However, this does not mean that higher harvest intensity results in sustainability, as other constraints apply to high-intensity projects. We conclude that conservation alternatives to maintain the forest would be more beneficial than management for timber.

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Details

Published: Apr 02, 2024
Vol/Issue: 15(4)
Pages: 652
License: View

Authors

F

Flora Magdaline Benitez Romero

Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Av. André Araújo, 2936, Manaus CEP 69067-375, Amazonas, Brazil; Departamento de Economia Rural, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa CEP 36570-900, Minas Gerais, Brazil; Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Naturales, Universidad Amazónica de Pando (UAP), Cobija 69932-000, Pando, Bolivia; Departamento de Engenharia Rural, Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, Instituto de Investigação e Formação Avançada, Núcleo da Mitra, Apartado 94, 7006-554 Évora, Portugal

J

José Ambrosio Ferreira Neto

Departamento de Economia Rural, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa CEP 36570-900, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Z

Zenobio Abel Gouvêa Perelli da Gama e Silva

Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Natureza, Universidade Federal do Acre (UFAC), Rio Branco CEP 69920-900, Acre, Brazil

L

Laércio Antônio Gonçalves Jacovine

Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), Viçosa CEP 36570-900, Minas Gerais, Brazil

S

Santiago Ivan Sagredo Velasquez

Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Naturales, Universidad Amazónica de Pando (UAP), Cobija 69932-000, Pando, Bolivia

R

Richard Andres Benitez Romero

Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Naturales, Universidad Amazónica de Pando (UAP), Cobija 69932-000, Pando, Bolivia

S

Sabina Cerruto Ribeiro

Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Natureza, Universidade Federal do Acre (UFAC), Rio Branco CEP 69920-900, Acre, Brazil

G

Guilherme Silverio Aquino de Souza

Unidade de Aquidauana, Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul, Aquidauana CEP 79200-000, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

C

Crismeire Isbaex

Departamento de Engenharia Rural, Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, Instituto de Investigação e Formação Avançada, Núcleo da Mitra, Apartado 94, 7006-554 Évora, Portugal

R

Rosana Barbosa de Castro Lopes

Departamento de Ciências Florestais, Faculdade de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidade Federal do Amazonas (UFAM), Manaus CEP 69077-000, Amazonas, Brazil

F

Fernanda Machado Ferreira

Departamento de Economia Rural, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa CEP 36570-900, Minas Gerais, Brazil

P

Philip Martin Fearnside

Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Av. André Araújo, 2936, Manaus CEP 69067-375, Amazonas, Brazil

Funding

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico Award: 311103/2015-4

(CAPES), and INPA Award: 311103/2015-4

Cite This Article

Flora Magdaline Benitez Romero, José Ambrosio Ferreira Neto, Zenobio Abel Gouvêa Perelli da Gama e Silva, et al. (2024). Volume, Biomass, and Carbon Estimates for Commercial Tree Species in a Managed Forest: A Case Study in the Bolivian Amazon. Forests, 15(4), 652. https://doi.org/10.3390/f15040652

Volume, Biomass, and Carbon Estimates for Commercial Tree Species in a Managed Forest: A Case Study in the Bolivian Amazon

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