Abstract

COVALEDA, Sara; PAZ, Fernando  and  RANERO, Alejandro. Soil carbon in Chiapas: Emissions mitigation public policies approaches. Terra Latinoam [online]. 2016, vol.34, n.1, pp.97-112. ISSN 2395-8030.

Regarding the challenges that face climate change mitigation for the AFOLU sector (Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Uses), it is necessary to propose activities which, while reducing CO2 emissions to the atmosphere have a positive socio-economic impact. In Chiapas, 76% of GHG (greenhouse gases) emissions are linked to the activities undertaken by farmers in rural areas and therefore it is essential that decision makers can use simple tools that allow them to develop policy programs and identify activities that are able to resolve the problems. On the other hand, about half of the GHG emissions in Chiapas come from the soil. In this paper the main land use change dynamics in Chiapas for the period 2007-2011 were identified at the regional level using maps, and were: deforestation of temperate secondary forest for subsistence agriculture plots (milpa) in the Highlands of Chiapas, deforestation of secondary vegetation of tropical evergreen rain-forest for cattle ranching La Selva and degradation of pine-oak forests in the Sierra Madre. Using regional land use change dynamic models associated with vegetation/land uses carbon stocks, impacts of land-use change dynamic, on edaphic carbon and opportunity costs were assessed. Moreover, using these same models public policy activities with positive impacts on edaphic carbon and socio-economic indicators were identified. Sustainable land use activities proposed were: conservation tillage and MIAF (maíz interspersed with fruit trees) for the Highlands of Chiapas, silvopastoral systems for La Selva region and secondary forest protection, forest management and commercial plantation of forest species for La Sierra.

Keywords : deforestation; forest degradation; models; REDD+ activities; soil organic carbon.

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