Evaluación de carbono orgánico en diferentes fracciones compuestas del suelo de páramo, Chambo y Pungalá

Abstract

The objective of this study is to evaluate the amount of organic carbon found in the different fractions of the soil of the paramo in the intervened and non-intervened areas of Chambo and Pungalá, in the province of Chimborazo. The total study area is 42,365 ha, in Chambo 15,900 ha, and Pungalá 26,465 ha. With the experimental design, 75 monitoring points were determined at 8 altitudes ranging from 2600 to 4200 m.a.s.l. The samples were collected at two depths 0-30 cm and 30-60 cm (GIDAC protocol), granulometric fractionation (um) was applied for different particles and the loss on ignition method to estimate the soil carbon in the different particle sizes. in turn, the effective cation exchange capacity was analyzed at a depth of 0-30 cm by the standard reference method-PEELABSU. The ANOVA statistical analysis indicates that soil organic carbon is significant for depth, altitude floor, intervention, and composite fractions. Regarding the effective cation exchange capacity through descriptive statistics, the highest value of (23.10 cmol / kg) was determined in Pungalá concerning Chambo (18.98 cmol / kg). It is concluded that there is a significant difference in the COS content in the granulometric fraction in non-intervened areas (2000 μm) and intervened areas (53 μm), on the other hand, the effective cation exchange capacity in the two sectors is higher in areas intervened to non-intervened areas. It is recommended to disseminate the results obtained to the scientific community, GADS, residents of Chambo and Pungalá, due to the importance of the conservation of the paramos.