CLIMATE ZONING FOR THE CULTIVATION OF AFRICAN MAHOGANY SPECIES IN BRAZIL

ABSTRACT African mahogany is the common name given to different species of the genus Khaya. They are tree species native to the African continent, which have a wood quality that allows their noble use in making fine furniture, and in the civil and naval industries. Currently, African mahogany cultivation has received notoriety in Brazil and given its climatic conditions. The country has great potential for planting these species. The purpose of this work was to identify climatic aptitude zones for African mahogany in Brazil. Based on the Kppen classification and in the means of relative air temperature and annual rainfall, a base map interpolation was performed to select regions suitable and restricted to planting and adequate growth of African mahogany species. In general, the regions that presented temperatures between 22 °C and 30 °C were considered of high fitness, while temperature values below 14 °C restricts plantations growth. Regarding to precipitation, areas considered to be of high aptitude have between 700 to 3,000 mm.year-1, extreme values may indicate regions of low suitability and restricted to the cultivation of African mahogany. From the climatic characteristics, it was determined that about 60% of the Brazilian area was of high fitness, between 16% and 32% of medium fitness, and less than 20% as low fitness. The Northeastern semi-arid region proved to be restricted to the cultivation of these species due to the low annual rainfall and a few places in the South region was also restricted due to low temperatures and risks of frost.摘要：非洲桃花心木（African mahogany）是对非洲楝属（Khaya）不同物种的通用俗称。该类树种原产于非洲大陆，其木材品质上乘，可用于制作高档家具，并应用于土木及船舶制造产业。当前，依托巴西的气候条件，该国在非洲桃花心木种植领域已获得广泛关注，且具备极大的种植潜力。本研究旨在划定巴西境内适合非洲桃花心木生长的气候适宜分区。研究基于柯本气候分类法（Köppen classification）、相对空气平均温度与年降水量的均值数据，通过基础地图插值分析，筛选出适宜开展非洲桃花心木种植与生长的区域，以及受限制的区域。总体而言，年均温介于22℃至30℃的区域被划定为高度适宜区；而气温低于14℃的区域则会限制种植生长。关于降水条件，高度适宜区的年降水量应处于700 mm·年⁻¹至3000 mm·年⁻¹区间，极端降水值对应的区域适宜性较低，仅可有限开展非洲桃花心木种植。结合气候特征分析结果，巴西境内约60%的区域属于高度适宜区，16%至32%的区域为中度适宜区，不足20%的区域为低适宜区。东北部半干旱区域因年降水量偏低，被证实不适宜该树种种植；南部部分区域亦因气温较低且存在霜冻风险，同样限制了非洲桃花心木的栽培。