Carbon Accumulated in the Tree Mass of the Uyuca Biological Reserve, Honduras

Abstract

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is a major greenhouse gas. Burning fossil fuels, clearing of forests and other factors have caused a global increase in concentration of this gas. Forests contribute to the global carbon balance and as purported in the Kyoto convention, these agroecosystems have become important in terms of their role in the carbon cycle. As a result international cooperation, initiatives and projects have been promoted to maintain the overall levels of woody biomass within forests and reduce regional rates of CO₂, which is the central objective of the REDD+ project. The Uyuca Biological Reserve (UBR) in Honduras serves to this purpose but its contribution to managing the carbon cycle balance has not been quantified. Quantification of these contributions are important to justify its maintenance and management. To address this gap in knowledge, we estimated the amount of carbon stored in the UBR as tree biomass. We estimated forest strata and tree biomass in each stratum. We calculated the carbon accumulated in UBR by an IPCC recommended methodology. We estimated a biomass of 445.6 tons (t) per hectare for the mixed forest and 212.1 t/ha for the pine forest. The aerial biomass in the 371 ha of mixed forest is 165,326 t and 94,582 t in the 446 ha of pine forest for a total of 259,909 t in the reserve. The estimated root biomass was 58,594 t for a total of 318,504 t in UBR. This biomass contains 159,252 t of carbon accumulated just in the tree component (trees larger than 10 cm diameter at breast high). We did not take in account other elements such as grasses and shrubs, and therefore these estimates are an underestimate of the real values. The RBU and other woody areas in the country are key elements to ensure proper carbon cycle balance at local and regional level and can be important for programs and projects based on the Kyoto protocol. It is important to quantify the carbon accumulated in these areas and forest resources in general, especially in the context of REDD+ implementation.

Ceiba, 2016. Volumen 54(2):139-146