Abstract

BECERRIL-PINA, Rocio et al. Carbon content in a semi-arid ecosystem in central Mexico. Ecosistemas y recur. agropecuarios [online]. 2014, vol.1, n.1, pp.9-18. ISSN 2007-901X.

During the last decades, several allometric equations (AE) have been proposed for tropical and subtropical species in order to estimate the carbon content (CC) in the aboveground biomass. However, semi-arid environments have been scarcely studied despite the fact that they represent almost 40 % of Mexicos surface. The purpose of this study was to develop AE to determine the CC in the aboveground biomass of the mezquite (Prosopis laevigata), huizache (Acacia farnesiana) and herbaceous plants that represent a semi-arid region in central Mexico. Five individuals of each species were selected and sampled using a destructive method in order to estimate the total dry biomass and the biomass per component (leaves, branches and trunk). These were correlated with parameters that were easy to record in the eld: canopy cover, canopy radius, total height and volume. Values of R² varied from 0.96 to 0.80, depending on the species. The spatial distribution of the CC in the Dolores Hidalgo (Guanajuato) basin, which is located in the semi-arid region of central Mexico, was estimated using satellite information. The vegetation cover in the study area was re-classied as open, semi-open and closed. Carbon content was 2.4 Mg C ha^-1 in the open cover, 10.26 Mg C ha^-1 in the semi-open cover and 21.20 Mg C ha^-1 in the closed cover areas. The results suggest that the semi-arid ecosystems in central Mexico present an important potential as carbon sinks, with an average of 11 Mg C^-1.

Keywords : Aboveground biomass; semi-arid; allometric equations; carbon content.

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