Estimación de la biomasa y carbono almacenado en la cobertura arbórea de la región del carare - opón (Santander)

Abstract

The main cause of global warming is the increase of greenhouse gases since the industrial revolution; taking into account that carbon dioxide (CO2) is the second bigger contributor to this problem; and that the forests act as reservoirs of carbon. The reduction of emissions by degradation programs (REDD +) are a mechanism of mitigation and adaptation to climate change, one of their objectives is to estimate the capture of forest carbon. Objective− This article aims to estimate the content of aerial biomass and stored carbon in the ecosystem, as well as in the ten species with the highest importance value index (IVI). This in order to know what is the species with the largest reserve of carbon and see whether there are differences in the structural variables of the species. Methodology− The biomass estimations were made using an indirect method with nine allometric equations that estimate according to the diameter at breast height (10 cm to 1.30 m) and the total height. The carbon stored is calculated by taking the 50% of the estimated biomass. Results− A value of 465.41 t/0.05 ha of aerial biomass and 232.70 t/0.05 ha of carbon stored were estimated for the ecosystem. The species with the highest value of biomass and carbon was Anacardium Excelsum. Conclusions− The ten species with the highest IVI represent 93.72% of the total biomass of the ecosystem, the most important represents the 18.23%, is related to the structural variables of the vegetation such as the basal area and the total height.