bachelorThesis
Comparación de estimaciones de carbono aéreo utilizando valores recopilados de densidades de madera versus medidos en áreas reforestadas al sur del Ecuador
Fecha
2023-05-16Autor
Ortega Maldonado, Rubén Rodolfo
Serpa Valdez, Shannon Ailisha
Institución
Resumen
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.