RESUMO: A expansão urbana levou à substituição de paisagens naturais por paisagens urbanas e à degradação ambiental, tornando cidades e suas florestas urbanas e peri-urbanas (FUPs) vulneráveis às mudanças climáticas, especialmente à formação de ilhas de calor. Utilizando o software i-Tree Canopy (v.7.0), estimamos os serviços ecossistêmicos promovidos pelas UPFs em Juiz de Fora (Minas Gerais, Sudeste do Brasil), por meio da análise de (1) remoção anual de poluentes atmosféricos, (2) remoção anual de carbono atmosférico, (3) estoque de carbono na vegetação e (4) os benefícios monetários do carbono sequestrado anualmente e estocado, utilizando o Mercado de Crédito de Carbono Futuro (CFI2Z1) como um proxy monetário. Os resultados apresentam uma quantidade total média de remoção de 4,45 mil toneladas de poluentes do ar, anualmente. O armazenamento médio anual de carbono total foi de 158 mil toneladas e o de CO2 equivalente foi de 580 mil toneladas, com um valor total estimado anual de R$ 173 milhões. Foram encontrados expressivos valores do estoque bruto de carbono (3,98 milhões de toneladas) e CO2 equivalente (14,59 milhões de toneladas), sendo avaliado em R$ 4,35 bilhões. Concluímos que as FUPs de Juiz de Fora possuem um grande potencial para benefícios socioambientais e econômicos.

ABSTRACT: Urban expansion has led to the replacement of natural landscapes and environmental degradation, making cities and their urban and peri-urban forests (UPFs) vulnerable to climate change, especially on the formation of heat islands. Using i-Tree Canopy program (v. 7.0), we estimate the ecosystem services provided by UPFs in Juiz de Fora (Minas Gerais State, Southeastern Brazil), through the analysis of the (1) annual removal of atmospheric pollutants, (2) annual removal of atmospheric carbon, (3) total carbon stock in vegetation, and (4) the monetary benefits of sequestered and stocked carbon, based on Future Carbon Credit (CFI2Z1) as a monetary proxy. The results showed an average total amount of removal of 4.45 thousand tons of air pollution annually. The average annual total carbon storage was 158 thousand tons and the equivalent CO2 was 580 thousand tons, with an estimated total value of R$ 173 million per year. Significant values of the gross carbon stock (3.98 million tons) and equivalent CO2 (14.59 million tons) were found, being valued at R$ 4.35 billion. We concluded that the Juiz de Fora UPFs have a great potential for socio-environmental and economic benefits.

ABSTRACT The growth-survival trade-off hypothesis states that functional traits of stem, wood, leaves and fruits govern acquisitive and conservative strategies of plant species that grow/survive differently in forests. We aimed to determine whether heterogeneity during the colonization of a secondary Atlantic Forest fragment causes differences in colonization-related traits and determines taxonomic composition of subplots. A total of 5,078 subplots were censused with leaf and fruit traits and height measurements being determined for each tree of each species, and with averaged-abundance-weighted values calculated for each subplot. A dendrogram was generated from the taxonomic composition of subplots using Sorensen similarity and UPGMA clustering. A total of 74,335 trees of 178 species were recorded. Clustering revealed five main groups of subplots that were tested against each other and found to differ in terms of average leaf width, leaf-width/petiole-width, wood density, mean height, height mode, fruit width and fruit length. Greater leaf averages in subplots were associated with greater fruit averages, and with higher wood densities and greater heights among groups of subplots, revealing that heterogeneity during colonization directed the communities of the 50-ha plot. The averaged values of functional traits detected subplots associated with conditions favorable to colonization, thereby reinforcing the growth-survival trade-off hypothesis.