摘要：English Spanish; Castilian Patterns of carbon retention and distribution across human-modified landscapes have been poorly investigated. In this paper carbon distribution across three forest habitats of a fragmented Atlantic forest landscape in northeast Brazil is examined. Data on tree assemblages (DBH ≥10 cm) inhabiting forest interior stands, forest edges and fragments (2.05–365 ha) were obtained via information from 59 0.1-ha plots (a total of 4,845 stems and 198 tree species), and it was further incorporated in four allometric equations for estimation of above-ground biomass and carbon. Stocks of carbon were highly variable within habitats of Serra Grande, but forest interior plots retained almost three times more carbon (202.8 ± 23.7 TonC/ha) than edge and fragment plots, while these edge-affected habitats exhibited similar scores. Moreover, emergent tree species accounted for the majority of the carbon retained (59.13%) in interior plots with understorey species playing a minor role. However, carbon retained by emergent species decreased by a half across forest edges and forest fragment since large stems (> 70 cm DBH) and very tall trees (> 31 m height) were very rare in these habitats. Finally, a forest cover mapping revealed the occurrence of 213.19 km2 31 m de altura) foram raras nestes habitats. Finalmente, o mapeamento dos remanescentes de floresta Atlãntica nordestina revelou a ocorrěncia de 213,19 km2 de floresta madura/interior, o que representa apenas 8% da floresta remanescente com potencial de reter o máximo de carbono. Os 92% restantes devem reter apenas a metade do carbono retido na floresta madura, conforme dados obtidos em Serra Grande. Nossos resultados indicam que a fragmentação de habitats e o estabelecimento de bordas e pequenos fragmentos limitam a capacidade da floresta de armazenar carbono nas paisagens antrópicas, uma vez que a perda de carbono devido à redução na abundãncia de grandes árvores não é compensada pelas espécies de dossel e de sub-bosque.
