Influencia de la salinidad en el almacén y flujos de carbono en manglares de franja de una zona cárstica

In mangroves as well as in other forest ecosystems, the importance of assessing carbon storage and flows is recognized by the contributionthat they may have in mitigation of the effects of CO2 emissions. This study evaluated the relationship between salinity as a hydrologicalcontroller and the carbon storages and flows in fringe mangroves of a geomorphologic karstic scenario with saline gradient like that ofthe Celestun lagoon. Two sampling sites were established in the fringe mangrove, one in the low salinity zone ( 40 psu, mouth). The structure of the vegetation between sites is different; the dominant species of mangrovein the zone of lower salinity was Laguncularia racemosa, whereas in the high salinity zone it was Avicennia germinans. In the fallof leaf litter there were no significant differences between sites, although it was greater in internal area (4.7 Mg C ha-1 year-1 ± 0.77 Mg Cha-1 year-1) with respect to the area of the mouth (4 Mg C ha-1 year-1 ± 0.38 Mg C ha-1 year-1). It was observed that the concentration ofinterstitial salinity had a significant effect on the total carbon storage, being greater in the Internal zone (375 Mg C ha-1 ± 9.6 Mg C ha-1).In the Internal zone the litterfall decomposition rates are lower (t50 > 130 days), causing that, together with greater fall of leaf litter andlower export by the flow-ebb of the tide the accumulation of organic matter on the ground is favored.