SOIL CARBON SEQUESTRATION IN COASTAL FRESHWATER WETLANDS OF VERACRUZ

Abstract

Wetlands play an important role in the global carbon (C) cycle because they act as sinks of this element. Vegetation in the wetlands is a factor that influences C storage in these ecosystems. We investigated C storage in freshwater wetland soils with different types of vegetation (swamps and marshes) in the coastal plain of Veracruz, Mexico. The study sites were: Estero Dulce (ED), Tecolutla and Laguna Chica (LCH), Vega de Alatorre. Bulk densities observed ranged from 0.1 to 1.15 g cm3. Average C stored in LCH was higher in swamp (13.30±0.11 %) than in marsh soils (4.52±0.02 %). However, in ED the C content was similar in swamp (5.88±0.03 %) and marsh soils (5.28±0.02 %). In LCH marshes, there was approximately 50 % less total C in the soil compared to the C content in the swamps. In ED, the C stored in the marshes was only 7.15 % lower than the C stored in the swamps. When the total C storage of freshwater swamps (35.04±4.0 kg cm-2) and marshes (24.8±4.0 kg cm-2) was compared, there was no effect caused by the type of vegetation (P = 0.213).