Almacenamiento de carbono en la biomasa aérea de una plantación joven de Pinus greggii Engelm.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of Pinus greggii Engelm. for storing carbon in above-ground biomass. Total above ground biomass was estimated throughout the evaluation of a sample of 20 trees, separated into stem, branches and foliage. This evaluation was carried out in a six-year old Pinus greggii Engelm. plantation established at Cuaunepantla, Acaxochitlán, in the state of Hidalgo, México. Average aerial dry biomass was 8.0 kg per tree, from which 4.1 kg (51 %) were in stem, 1.9 kg (24 %) in branches and 2.0 kg (25 %) in foliage. Net primary productivity was estimated at 5.8 t ha-1 y-1, considering a plantation density of 4425 trees/ha. Plant tissue carbon concentration was 51 %. A simple mathematic equation (y = 147x + 3288x2) for estimating carbon biomass from the combined variable of diameter and height (D2h) explained 89 % of the variation. Results showed that the potential for carbon storing in a six-year plantation of Pinus greggii Engelm. is relatively high with 17.9 t ha-1, which represents a carbon dioxide equivalent mass of 65.8 t CO2 ha-1.