Influencia del gradiente altitudinal sobre el carbono y nitrógeno del suelo en un matorral seco

Abstract

Abstract: The study of the distribution and carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks in the soil is of crucial importance for all terrestrial ecosystems and much more in dry areas where we find high heterogeneity due to differences in soils, climate and vegetation in relation to altitude. The objective of this research was to determine if altitude affects carbon and nitrogen stocks in a Neotropical dry forest ecosystem in southern Ecuador. For this, an altitudinal transect was selected from 1200 to 1800 m s.n.m where two plots were delimited and the C and N stocks were sampled at two depths. The results indicated a significant difference between the soil C and N stocks with the altitudinal gradient, with the highest values being 1800 m s n.m and the lowest values being 1200 m s.nm. These values were correlated with the climatic variables of temperature and precipitation. C and N stocks correlated positively with annual mean altitude and precipitation and negatively with mean annual temperature. The variations of the C and N stocks in addition to the altitude were mainly related to the decrease of the temperature and the increase of the precipitation with the altitude.