Resumo

CAMPO, Julio; GARCIA OLIVA, Felipe; NAVARRETE SEGUEDA, Armando  e  SIEBE, Christina. Stocks and dynamics of organic carbon in tropical forest ecosystems of Mexico. Terra Latinoam [online]. 2016, vol.34, n.1, pp.31-38. ISSN 2395-8030.

The effect of the precipitation regime on carbon dynamics in tropical forest is poorly known despite it is recognized as a key factor of the global C cycle. Our goal was to determine if there is an effect of mean annual rainfall and of land-use on C cycling. We also studied the recovery of C pools following cattle grazing abandonment in tropical forest regions distributed over a broad range of mean annual precipitation. We analyzed published data from eight Mexican tropical forests covering a mean annual precipitation range between 642 and 4725 mm. The analysis indicates that biomass C stocks increase with mean annual precipitation. Soil C concentrations tend to increase with mean annual precipitation in 0 to 20 cm depth but showed a peak also in the driest extreme of the gradient, probably due to limited decomposition. Soil C stocks increase with precipitation regime, and notably in the subsoil (>30 cm), where 49 to 60% of total soil C accumulates. Land-use effects on soil C appear as dependent of the precipitation regime. In contrast, soil C during secondary succession did not vary with drought intensity, but the number of studies included in the analysis was very limited. Our analysis suggests that precipitation regime plays a central role in the dynamic of C cycling in tropical forests.

Palavras-chave : tropical rainforests; tropical dry forests; soil carbon; land use effects; secondary succession.

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