Carbon storage in Ternium Ecological Reserve at Pesquería, Nuevo León State

Abstract

The Ternium Ecological Reserve is a flora and fauna conservation area, which includes the Tamaulipan Thornscrub. In this study, carbon storage was quantified in the different areas of the ecological reserve. Stratified random sampling was carried out, using satellite images to define the different communities. In each one of them, 10 rectangular sites of 10 × 20 m (a total number of 100 sites) were sampled, in which the basal diameter, the height and the diameters of the crown of each individual with a basal diameter> 3 cm were measured. To determine carbon storage, biomass was estimated by allometric equations and once it was calculated, a 45.4 % factor was used for carbon estimation proposed for the Tamaulipan Thornscrub species. 16 families, 27 genera and 28 species were recorded. The vegetal community that presented the highest total biomass and carbon was the Mezquite-Huizache with 102.44 and 46.10 Mg ha^-1 respectively, while the vegetal sources derived from the plantations, recorded the lowest numbers (1.74 and 3.96 Mg ha^-1). In general, the area has an average carbon content of 12.77 Mg ha^-1. The species that contributed to a greater carbon concentration due to their size were: Prosopis glandulosa, Acacia farnesiana and Cercidium macrum.