Structure, floristic composition and carbon storage in native forests of Paramo de Anaime, Tolima, Colombia

Abstract

Páramos have a high environmental importance due to their high plant and animal endemism, water regulation and carbon storage. In this work, the structure and composition of the tree vegetation were characterized as well as carbon storage in aboveground biomass and the potential reduction of emissions by deforestation were estimated prioritizing the type of forest for conservation efforts in the Reserva Natural Semillas de Agua (RNSA) in Páramo of Anaime, Tolima, Colombia. A stratified randomly sampling, where type of forests (stumpy, mature and subpáramo forests) was the strata, was used. In each type of forest, a total of nine sampling plots with an area of 10 x 15 m were established to measure all individuals with diameter at breast height (dbh) ≥ 10 cm. Total aboveground was estimated using a multi-species allometric model locally generated. The most important trees species, in terms of the importance value index and carbon storage, were Weinmannia auriculata and Miconia spp. The greatest carbon storage was reached by the subpáramo forests, followed by mature and stumpy forests (242 vs 147 vs 25 Mg/ha, respectively). The RNSA forests stored a total of 3.2 Tg CO 2 e in the total aboveground biomass. However, 0.2-0.5 Tg CO 2e can be lost in 20 years with an annual deforestation of 0.78 or 2.8%, respectively. These reductions of greenhouse gases could be commercialized in a REDD+ potential project that helps to conserve these forest areas. The conservation of these forests is a key for avoiding the emission of high amounts of CO 2 . The stumpy and subpáramo forests should be prioritized in the conservation efforts due to their high diversity and endemism and the high amount of carbon in the case of mature forests.