Evaluación del contenido de carbono en el suelo de un sistema de pastoreo y bosque nativo de la reserva Huayrapalte, cantón Suscal, provincia de Cañar

Abstract

The aim of this research study was to determine the carbon content in the native forest soil and grazing system of the Huayrapalte Reserve, Suscal Canton, Cañar Province. Sampling was applied at three altitudinal floors : 3100. 3200 and 3300 m.a.s.l, for which it was necesary to use GIS for both Georeferencing and to determine the sampling points. In the experimental phase, the extracted samples were pretreated and dried outdoors to obtain a homogeneous sample representative of each plot. At the laboratory stage, for the determination of organic carbon in the soil, the loss at ingnition method was used. This is an economical method as no chemical reagents are used and it doesn’t take many working hours to complete. This method is reasonably accurate in the estimation of organic matter in the soil if precautions are taken to avoid errors due to hygroscopicity and salt content. This i how Organic carbon was determined for each of the altitudinal floors. The highest carbon content in the soil of the Native Forest was in the upper área (3300 m.a.s.l) with 120,65 TmC/ha and the lowest carbon content was in the low zone (3100 m.a.s.l) with 80,60 TmC/ha. Unlike in the grazing system, the carbon content did not vary between the tree altitudes in the native forest, ranging from 136,50 to 149,58 TmC/ha in depth. In the native forest, the highest concentration of the carbon was located at 20 to 30 cm deep with 161,33 TmC/ha, Based on these findings, the recomendation is made to focus on forest preservation by raising awareness in the comunity of the benefits and services provided by this ecocystem.

Key words: organic carbon, ignition method, native forest grazing system