QUANTIFICATION OF THE CO2 FLOW IN THE SOIL COLONIZED BY AVICENNIA GERMINANS, LOCATED IN THE LOS TOTUMOS, MIRANDA STATE, VENEZUELA

Abstract

Mangrove ecosystems are estimated to have a high impact potential on the global carbon cycle because of their high organic matter content (Dittmar et al., 2006), and consequently a significant importance in CO2 flow as the greenhouse gas with the greatest impact on global warming (Benavides and León, 2007; Caballero et al., 2007; CESPA, 2013). In Venezuela, however, studies focusing on this issue are scarce, hence the aim of this research was to specify significant differences in the flow of CO2 in soil colonized by Avicennia germinans, as well as non-rizospheric located in Los Totumos sector. Research developed in three phases was applied: (a) fieldwork, in order to collect 120 surface soil samples (0-20 cm), (b) laboratory, with the purpose of estimating the CO2 flow from the basal breathing method (Anderson, 1982) and (c) statistical analysis, to identify significant differences based on the ANOVA and Tukey test. It is evident that there are significant differences, with flows of 7.51 mg C-CO2 g/24h in the rhyspheric area and 1.49 mg C-CO2 g/24h for non-rizospheric. It is concluded that: (a) microbial activity in the soil, induced by the presence of Avicennia germinans, is possibly contributing to its evolution, and (b) it is reaffirmed that mangrove ecosystems are a source of CO2 and reservoir gas to the impact of climate change.