Carbon Accumulation in Three Types of Forest in the Ecuadorian Amazon Region, Napo Province (Soil Component) (Phase 1)

This project addresses the critical need to quantify carbon storage in diverse forest ecosystems of the Ecuadorian Amazon Region (RAE), specifically in the Napo province, due to threats posed by destructive agricultural practices like clear-cutting and burning. Although the Ministry of Environment has conducted national inventories, the high diversity of Amazonian ecosystems necessitates expanding the database on forest structure, biomass, and carbon dynamics to support effective conservation policies. The primary goal is to measure the carbon storage capacity across three forest types: Lowland Evergreen, Foothill Evergreen, and Lower Montane Andean Evergreen. The methodology involves detailed soil analysis to determine key components influencing the carbon cycle. This includes nutrient removal, estimation of available phosphorus, determination of organic matter (via potassium dichromate oxidation), identification of Allophanes, soil texture characterization (Bouyoucos Method), measurement of exchangeable acidity (KCl), soil mineralogy (sodium pyrophosphate extraction), and determination of Total Nitrogen (Kjeldahl Method). The resulting information will strengthen the valuation of Amazonian forests as carbon sinks, supporting decision-making for their sustainable management.<br/><br/><b>Goal</b>: <br/>To quantify the ecosystem service of carbon storage across three specific forest ecosystem types: Lowland Evergreen Forest, Foothill Evergreen Forest, and Lower Montane Andean Evergreen Forest, all located in the Napo province.<br/><br/><b>Research lines</b>: <br/>Sustainable water and soil management