Recuperação de áreas degradadas na Área de Proteção Ambiental do Pratagy no município de Maceió, Alagoas, visando a compensação das emissões de GEE

Abstract

Climate change has raised growing concerns about greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, such as CO2, methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), particularly in developing countries where economic growth is often linked to increased emissions. This relationship can jeopardize long term sustainability and exacerbate climate impacts. Deforestation and fossil fuel combustion accelerate global warming and degrade ecosystems, undermining their carbon sequestration capacity. Forest restoration, especially in the Atlantic Forest, is a critical strategy to mitigate climate change by capturing significant amounts of carbon. This study proposes a revegetation technique for degraded areas in the Pratagy Environmental Protection Area (APA) in Maceió, Alagoas, with the goal of evaluating CO2 sequestration potential and compensating for GHG emissions. Land use analysis of the APA, based on MapBiomas data, revealed that the 21,417.51-hectare area is primarily composed of forest formation (37.84%) and agricultural activities, such as sugarcane (26.14%) and pasture (14.74%), with small areas of non-vegetated land (0.17%) suitable for restoration. A revegetation proposal for 21.4 hectares involved planting 53,500 native trees of 15 species to enhance ecological recovery and carbon capture. Carbon estimation in the soil indicated an average of 40–50 tons of carbon per hectare, with some regions having higher potential. Larger trees (DBH ≥ 10 cm) were found to be the primary contributors to carbon sequestration, with an estimated 98,054.21 tons of CO2 captured in the revegetation area. Additionally, a simulation for restoring agricultural areas (6,853.69 hectares) in the APA suggested the need for 17,134,225 trees, with a potential sequestration of 31.35 million tons of CO2. These findings highlight the potential of degraded areas for ecological recovery and climate change mitigation while contributing to biodiversity preservation. This study underscores the importance of reforestation strategies in combating environmental degradation, mitigating climate impacts, and promoting the conservation of the Atlantic Forest.