Estimación de materia orgánica en el suelo y biomasa del páramo de Quimiag.

Abstract

The objective of this work is to estimate the content of organic matter (OM) of the soil and biomass: aerial (pajonal) and underground (roots of pajonal) of the Andean moorland of Quimiag, Chimborazo, Ecuador. 4 lithologies were selected with a total of 24 conglomerates: pyroclastic/tuff (PA) 16, basalt (Pa) 2, glacial deposits (gd) 3, phyllite (Pzl) 3. Besides, 288 samples were collected: 144 soil at depths of 0-30 cm and 30-60 cm (Protocol of the Research and Development Group for the Environment and Climate Change (RDGECC)), 144 aerial (pajonal) and underground biomass (pajonal roots). In the laboratory the physical-chemical properties and the content of OM were analyzed by the ignition method, in which results the statistical analyzes of variance and comparison of measures with Tukey tests and significant mean difference (DMS) at 5% significance were applied using the student InfoStat statistical program. The soils are acidic with pH between 4-6, the electrical conductivity (EC) is in the range of 0-2 dS/m considering them non-saline soils, predominantly the loam-clay-sandy texture, the apparent density (AD) lower to 1 g/ml, humidity greater than 50% and the depth is inversely proportional to the OM, greater OM at a lower depth. The results indicate that altitude influences the physical-chemical and environmental parameters: pH, EC, AD, percentage of humidity and temperature, which are related to the OM; therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected and it is concluded that there is a difference in the content of OM between the aerial (pajonal), underground (pajonal roots) and soil biomass; the percentage of OM of biomass: aerial (48.75%), underground (35.97%) and soil (18.01%). Based on the results obtained, it is considered relevant to socialize the information with the community for the proposal of ecosystem improvement and conservation plans.