Impact of the 23-year recovery process of degraded lands and management systems on carbon stocks, soil aggregation, and CO 2 emissions in the Atlantic forest biome, Brazil.

The study aimed to quantify the carbon (C) contents and stocks and evaluate the structural stability and the total emission of mineralizable carbon (C-CO 2 ) in different areas with sandy-textured soil. Three managed areas were evaluated: conventional tillage system (CTS) considered as a reference, no-tillage (NT), permanent pasture (PP), and an area in the process of environmental recovery that comprises the Binational Biological Refuge of Maracaju (BBRM). Samples of deformed and undisturbed soils were collected from all areas in years 0-0.05; 0.05-0.10; 0.10-0.20; Soil layers of 0.20-0.40 m. From the samples, carbon stocks were analyzed, soil aggregation in CO 2 emission. There was a positive variation of ∆Stock-C for all areas compared to the reference area. The best structural parameters were observed in the PP and BBRM areas. The highest peaks of C-CO 2 emission occurred in the CTS area, especially on the 29 th and 49 th day. The CTS area evidenced that inadequate management decreased soil quality. The areas with conservation practices contributed to the quality of the edaphic environment for the attributes evaluated. The BBRM area demonstrated a great capacity to increase carbon stocks, also contributing to the improvement of the physical quality of the soil.