Comparación de estimaciones de carbono aéreo utilizando valores recopilados de densidades de madera versus medidos en áreas reforestadas al sur del Ecuador

Abstract

The Andean tropical forests of Ecuador are important for mitigating the effects of climate change due to the environmental services they provide, particularly for capturing and storing carbon in their biomass. To evaluate the impact of Andean forests on climate change mitigation, it is necessary to quantify the amount of stored carbon. The objective of this study was to compare airborne carbon estimates in reforested areas using field-derived wood density values and global information databases in southern Ecuador. Fifty-two permanent plots were established where five tree species were selected to obtain wood samples, and two methods were used to determine the green volume of the wood samples: empirical and water displacement. From the obtained data, allometric equations were applied for the calculation of airborne carbon. The results showed diverse floristic composition and a wide variability of airborne carbon in the southern part of the country, where 59.6% of the plots showed a difference greater than 10% in relation to the values reported by Zanne et al., 2009 compared to the estimated carbon in the field, and the greatest differences occurred in plots without information on wood density at the species level, highlighting the importance of considering more precise values to avoid underestimation or overestimation in the evaluation of airborne carbon content in tropical forests.