CO2 mitigation strategies based on soil respiration

• Main Authors: Leticia Citlaly López-Teloxa, Alejandro Ismael Monterroso-Rivas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad Politécnica Salesiana 2020-08-01
• Series: La Granja: Revista de Ciencias de la Vida
• Subjects: Agricultural; C storage; land use change; agroforestry; forestry
• Online Access: https://retos.ups.edu.ec/index.php/granja/article/view/3886

Soil, in addition to storing is a source of CO2 to the atmosphere emitted by soil respiration, mainly due to land use change. The objective of the research was to evaluate soil respiration in different uses and quantify its CO2 emissions at two different times of the year, as well as estimate the storage of this to make a balance to establish strategies that allows with the climate change mitigation. Using a closed dynamic chamber placed on the soil and integrated with an infrared gas analyzer measured the CO2 emission every 30 min, as well as temperature and moisture of the soil with sensors. Three land uses (agroforestry, forestry and agricultural) and two seasons of the year (summer and winter) were analyzed for 24 continuous hours at each site. Positive correlation between ambient temperature and soil respiration was found to exist. The agricultural system stores low carbon content in the soil (50.31 t C ha-1) and emits 9.28 t of C ha-1 in the highest temperature season, in contrast to a natural system that emits 3.98 t of C ha-1 and stores 198.90 t of C ha-1. The balance sheet reflects the need to know CO2 emissions to the atmosphere from soils and not just warehouses. Having scientific support from the ground to the atmosphere is an important step in decision-making that will contribute to climate change mitigation.