CLIMATE ZONING FOR REFORESTATION WITH DIFFERENT AFRICAN MAHOGANY SPECIES IN BRAZIL

Abstract

African mahogany is the popular name given to different species of the genus Khaya. They are tree species native to the African continent, witch have a wood quality that allows their noble use in making fine furniture, and in the civil and naval industries. Currently, its cultivation in Brazil has received notoriety and given its climatic conditions, country has great potential for planting these species. The objective of this work was to identify climatic fitness zones for African mahogany in Brazil.  Based on the Koppen classification and in the averages of relative air temperature and annual rainfall, a base map interpolation was performed to select regions suitable and restricted to planting and adequate growth of African mahogany species. In general, the regions that presented temperatures between 22 °C and 30 °C were considered of high fitness, while temperature values below 14 °C restricts growth to plantations. With regard to rainfall, areas considered to be of high aptitude haved between of 700 to 3,000 mm.year^-1, extreme values may indicate regions of low suitability and restricted to the cultivation of African mahogany. From the climatic characteristics, it was determined that about 60% of the Brazilian area was of high fitness, between 16% and 32% of medium fitness, and less than 20% as low fitness. The Northeastern semi-arid region proved to be restricted to the cultivation of these species due to the very low rainfall and some places in the South region restrict planting due to low temperatures and risks of frost.