Abstract

OJEDA ROJAS, Jazmín Guadalupe; AMARILLA RODRIGUEZ, Stella Mary  and  VILLALBA MARIN, Lucía Janet. Carbon stock variation in forest plantations and native forests of the Alto Paraná Atlantic Forest Ecoregion, Paraguay. Investig. Agrar. [online]. 2022, vol.24, n.1, pp.53-60. ISSN 2305-0683.  https://doi.org/10.18004/investig.agrar.2022.junio.2401701.

The study of the role played by soils in the provision of ecosystem services is incipient in our country, and requires adequate attention with emphasis from academic and scientific action; since they constitute the most complex group of ecosystem services because they include formation processes and other relevant natural cycles (carbon, nitrogen and others). The historical background of changes in land use in the Eastern Region and the current progressive trend in the Western Region lead to propose research that contributes to its economic and social valuation for the purposes of protection and sustainable use. The research was carried out in the department of Alto Paraná and aimed to estimate the carbon stock and its variation for two land uses (forest plantations and native forests) in the Alto Paraná Atlantic Forest ecoregion. The InVEST model was used to estimate the carbon stock, with the use of data from four carbon reservoirs (above and belowground biomass, litter and soil carbon) provided by INFONA, and the land use maps prepared for the years 1999 and 2014. The results of the InVEST model revealed the release of 6.7 Mt of carbon stored in forest soils, and 0.3 Mt of carbon fixed in forest plantation soils. As a conclusion, there is a variation in the carbon stock of native forest areas and forest plantations that can be explained in part by the influence of climatic, lithological, topographic and hydrological factors, as well as by characteristics of the vegetation, microbial activity and soil properties related to management practices.

Keywords : carbon stock; changes land use; ecosystems services.

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