Oleoresin yield and carbon stocks in tapped subtropical Pinus elliottii forests

Background Low-cost methods to mitigate the increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and their implications on global climate change have received considerable attention in the last years [1,2]. Afforestation is an important alternative to reduce the rise in atmospheric CO2 concentration due to the system’s ability to fix carbon in forest biomass and soil [3]. Several studies have been performed to estimate carbon sequestration in temperate, tropical, and mediterranean forests ecosystems [4,5]. However, there are no reports related to carbon balance in pine forests used for oleoresin tapping grown under subtropical climate. The main goal of this research is to estimate the effect of resin tapping on C sequestration by Pinus elliottii forests.