Carbon content in vegetation, litter, and soil under 10 different land-use and land-cover classes in the Central Highlands of Michoacan, Mexico

Abstract

In this study we estimated the carbon content in vegetation, litter, and soil, under 10 different classes of land-use and land-cover classes (LU/LC) in the Purepecha Region, located in the Central Highlands of México. Forests in this area are representative of the montane forests of Central and Southern Mexico and are subject to rapid degradation and deforestation by human pressure. Carbon data for each of the LU/LC classes and the main pools (vegetation, soil and litter) were collected at 92 sites in 276 field plots of 0.1 ha each, based on a “nested” design which allows the collection of samples and their replicates. The following LU/LC classes were identified: pine forest, oak forest, pine–oak forest, fir forest, Plantation, Agricultural fields, Grasslands, Scrublands, Avocado plantation and Degraded forests. The following results were obtained: (a) carbon content in vegetation ranged from 0.2 (grasslands) to 169.7 (fir forest) Mg C ha −1; (b) carbon content in litter ranged from 0.6 (agriculture) to 4.1 (fir forest) Mg C ha −1, and (c) carbon content in soil from the 0–30 cm depth, ranged from 72.8 (degraded forest) to 116.4 (oak forest) Mg C ha −1. Forest classes (pine, oak, fir and pine–oak forest) presented the highest total carbon stocks with values ranging between 220.7 and 266.9 Mg C ha −1; degraded forest contained 169.2 Mg C ha −1; plantation 142 Mg C ha −1 and avocado orchards reported 156.1 Mg C ha −1; scrublands 121 Mg C ha −1; grasslands 90.8 Mg C ha −1 and agriculture 82.7 Mg C ha −1. The total carbon stock in the last three classes was mainly found in the soil. The results of the present study are relevant for national inventories of carbon stocks and can be used to derive greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), once the land-cover change dynamics are known.