BIOMASS ACCUMULATION IN FORESTS WITH HIGH PRESSURE OF FUELWOOD EXTRACTION IN CHIAPAS, MEXICO

Deb Raj Aryal,Alonso López Cruz,Isaí Euán Chi,Alejandro Ley De Coss,Roldan Ruiz Corzo,René Pinto Ruiz,Heriberto Gómez Castro,José Apolonio Venegas Venegas,Francisco Guevara Hernández,Carlos Velázquez Sanabria,Danilo Morales Ruiz

doi:10.1590/1806-90882018000300007

Abstract

ABSTRACT Tropical forests plays a vital role in mitigating atmospheric CO2 but the retention capacity of such ecosystems has changed greatly due to increasing anthropogenic pressures, of which firewood extraction is the main one activity in rural areas. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the biomass stocks of pine and oak forests with different pressure of fuelwood extraction in Chiapas, Mexico. The study was carried out in four locations in the state of Chiapas, southern Mexico; two of them with high extraction levels and the other two with lower extraction levels. Pine and Oak forests are the predominant forest types in the region. A total of sixteen plots of 400 m2 were established to measure the biomass stocks of the trees with > 7.5 cm DBH. Published allometric equations were used to quantify the biomass stocks. The average biomass of the pine forest with low fuelwood extraction was 213.4 Mg ha-1, and that of the oak forest was 189.5 Mg ha-1. On the other hand, the biomass stocks of the pine forest with high fuelwood extraction was 138.2 Mg ha-1, and that of the oak forest was 92.0 Mg ha-1. Communities with agricultural diversification like apiculture and agroforestry practices were found more effective in forest biomass conservation when compared to those who are only dedicated to Milpa cultivation and extensive bovine livestock production. The adoption of silvopasture systems, the use of crop residues and the use of ecological cooking stoves can be the alternatives to reduce forest fuelwood extraction.

Highlights

Introduction2.7 billion people in the planet depend on traditional fuels like firewood, charcoal and animal dung for domestic energy (IEA, 2011)
Tropical forests plays a vital role in mitigating atmospheric CO2 but the retention capacity of such ecosystems has changed greatly due to increasing anthropogenic pressures, of which firewood extraction is the main one activity in rural areas
2.7 billion people in the planet depend on traditional fuels like firewood, charcoal and animal dung for domestic energy (IEA, 2011)

Summary

Introduction

2.7 billion people in the planet depend on traditional fuels like firewood, charcoal and animal dung for domestic energy (IEA, 2011). The demand and sources of energy vary depending on regions. In many countries, these resources account for over 90% of household energy consumption (IEA, 2013). About one fourth of Mexican households (27.2 million people) depend, either exclusively (18.7 million people) or in combination with liquefied petroleum gas (LP gas) (8.5 million people), on fuelwood for cooking (Masera et al, 2005). High fuelwood consumption is concentrated especially within rural and peri-urban households in Mexico (Masera et al, 2005). In the state of Chiapas, nearly 50% of the families depend on firewood as their main source of energy for cooking and heating their homes. The average per capita fuelwood consumption in the rural communities of El Ocote, Chiapas, ranged from 1.3 to 3.3 kg day-1 (Marquez-Reynoso et al, 2017) to 9.5 kg day-1 person-1 in two rural communities of Villaflores, Chiapas (López-Cruz, 2016)

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