Evaluación ecología de la estructura vertical y valoración económica, por la prestación del servicio de captura de carbono, del bosque de galería asociado al Rio Hualahuises (Nuevo Leon, Mexico)

Abstract

The riparian forest associated at the Hualahuises river located in the Hualahuises municipality, Nuevo Léon (Northeastern of Mexico), has been a conditioned ecosystem because of the strong anthropic pressure that settlers have produced through soil-change actions, as agriculture, cattle raising, deviation of the riverbed and recreational activities. This type of riparian ecosystems, bring ecological services that most of the time are affected by the structural and ecological alteration of their vegetable communities. This kind of ecosystem degradation has become as the need of the environmental goods and services valuation that can be provided under sustainable management and conservation practices. 20 plots of 10 x 25 m (0,5 Ha) were stablished on the Hualahuises river, 10 plots in Las Adjuntas zone and 10 plots in the El Sabinal zone, being this last one considerably closer to the urban area. Diameter and height classes were determinated for each zone, as the vertical structure of the riparian forest from the Pretzsch index A= 1,36. This index presented an Amáx=1,79 y and Arel=76,30%, representing and equal distribution of the species Taxodium huegelii C. Lawson., y Populus alba L., on the three layers determinated by Pretzsch. For the 0,5 Ha covered by the 20 plots, was determinated a biomass stock of 9,46 ton/Ha and a carbon stock of tonCO2/Ha. For the total area of the riparian forest associated to the Hualahuises River (39,62 Ha) carbon capture service was evaluated under two scenarios, one that considered the annual deforestation that asses the forest in $10.524 USD, and the other scenario that consider the ecosystem conservation which estimate the forest in $13.326 USD, being a viable economic alternative for the future generation of the municipality, who can be capable of sustain their selves economically from the carbon market under the conservation scenario, which have better income than the harvesting scenario.