Soil carbon stock in balsa wood after fertilization strategies

Abstract: The objective of this work was to evaluate whether balsa wood plantation and its fertilization can improve soil carbon stocks. Total carbon stocks in the soil-biomass system, at 0.0-0.30 m soil depths, were evaluated under three fertilization strategies, after three and seven years, and compared with carbon stocks from native forest and degraded pasture. At the highest fertilization level, balsa wood showed a carbon stock similar to that of the native forest (65.38 Mg ha-1) and, after seven years, it increased carbon stock by 18% in the soil, and by 42% in the soil-biomass system.