Abstract

FERNANDEZ PEREZ, Carlos Julio; CELY REYES, Germán Eduardo  and  SERRANO, Pablo Antonio. Quantification of Carbon Sequestration and Analysis of Soil Properties in Natural Coverages and a Pine Plantation in the Páramo of Rabanal, Colombia. Cuad. Geogr. Rev. Colomb. Geogr. [online]. 2019, vol.28, n.1, pp.121-133. ISSN 0121-215X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/rcdg.v28n1.66152.

Soil organic carbon and its effect on five soil properties (apparent density; gravimetric moisture; pH; organic matter; and percentage of carbon) was determined by implementing a systematic point sampling method using a 48 point fixed grid (350 m between each point) applied in two soil layers ( at depths of 0-15 and 15-30 cm). The 500-hectare study zone hosts a pine plantation and native vegetation of the Páramo of Rabanal in Boyacá, Colombia. The average soil organic carbon found at depths of 0-15 and 0-30 cm was 51.4 t/ha and 108 t/ha, respectively. Statistical differences (P < 0.05) were found between the native coverage and the pine plantation at both depths for the apparent density, gravimetric moisture and pH variables, while the organic matter and percentage of carbon variables showed no significant differences. The results show a reduction in the water capacity of the soils in the study area due to the increase in apparent density in soils located under the pine plantation. With respect to carbon contents, there is a comparative decrease in relation to the high-plateau (Páramo) vegetation coverage, given that the characteristic conditions of forest plantations limit the growth of the different vegetal layers endemic to that ecosystem, and consequently, biological activity.

Keywords : changes in soil; carbon sequestration; organic carbon; Páramo of Rabanal; soils; pine.

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