Land-use change and carbon flux between 1970s and 1990s in central highlands of Chiapas, Mexico

We present results of a study in an intensively impacted and highly fragmented landscape in which we apply field-measured carbon (C) density values to land-use/ land-cover (LU/LC) statistics to estimate the flux of C between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere from the 1970s and 1990s. Carbon densities were assigned to common LU/LC classes on vegetation maps produced by Mexican governmental organizations and, by differencing areas and C pools, net C flux was calculated from the central highlands of Chiapas, Mexico, during a 16-year period. The total area of closed forests was reduced by half while degraded and fragmented forests expanded 56% and cultivated land and pasture areas increased by 8% and 30%, respectively. Total mean C densities ranged from a high of 504 tons C/ha in the oak and evergreen cloud forests class to a low of 147 tons C/ha in the pasture class. The differences in total C densities among the various LU/LC classes were due to changes in biomass while soil organic matter C remained similar. We estimate that a total of 19.99 3 106 tons C were released to the atmosphere during the period of time covered by our study, equal to approximately 34% of the 1975 vegetation C pool. The Chiapas highlands, while comprising just 0.3% of Mexico's surface area, contributed 3% of the net national C emissions.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	De Jong, Bernardus Hendricus Jozeph Doctor autor 2038, Cairns, Michael A. autor, Ramírez Marcial, Neptalí 1963- Doctor autor 5449, Ochoa Gaona, Susana Doctora autora 72, Mendoza Vega, Jorge Doctor autor 2016, González Espinosa, Mario 1950- Doctor autor 5462, March Mifsut, Ignacio José Maestro autor 15044
Format:	Texto biblioteca
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Cambio de uso de la tierra, Paisajes fragmentados, Carbono, Bosques, Artfrosur,
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