RAINFOREST BURNING AND THE GLOBAL CARBON BUDGET: BIOMASS, COMBUSTION EFFICIENCY AND CHARCOAL FORMATION IN THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON

Biomass present before and after burning was measured in forest cleared for pasture in a cattle ranch (Fazenda Dimona) near Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. Aboveground dry weight biomass loading averaged 265 t ha-1 (standard deviation (SD) = 110, n = 6 quadrats) at Fazenda Dimona, which corresponds to approximately 311 t ha-1 total dry weight biomass. A five-category visual classification at 200 points showed highly variable burn quality. Postburn aboveground biomass loading was evaluated by cutting and weighing of 100 m2 quadrats and by line intersect sampling. Quadrats had a mean dry weight of 187 t ha-1 (SD = 69, n = 10), a 29.3 % reduction from the preburn mean in the same clearing. Line intersect estimates in 1.65 km of transects indicated that 265 m3 ha-1 (approximately 164 t ha-1 of aboveground dry matter) survived burning. Using carbon contents measured for different biomas