Agroforestry systems in Brazil: an approach about carbon storage

Abstract

The agroforestry systems (AFS) are part of the strategic actions to mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), which compose the National Policy on Climate Change (NPCC). Considering the importance of these systems in capturing and storing atmospheric carbon it is necessary to evaluate this potential of carbon storage in order to encourage this activity in the context of Brazilian public policy on climate change. In this sense, it is aimed to systematize the available data in the bibliographic, demonstrating carbon storage of different agroforestry arrangements. The data indicated large variation in the average increment of carbon in agroforestry systems ranging from 1.26 t C ha^-1 yr^-1 to 11.19 t C ha^-1 yr^-1, depending on its structure and age. Thus, estimates of carbon storage in AFS should be one of the factors to be considered to encourage this activity and the choice of arrangement to be adopted. Finally, we infer that these systems have a great importance to make agricultural management practices more environmentally sustainable and for the mitigation of GHG emissions.