High-elevation tropical forest soils in Colombian Andes found rich in carbon from past fires

The soil in tropical forests at high altitude, cooler and drier in the Colombian Andes, stores more carbon from fires than warmer and warmer regions, according to new research.

Scientists have studied the long -term impact of fires on Andean forest floors, noting that carbon from fires – known as pyrogenic carbon (PYC) – is considerably revealed through the Andean plains and mountains of Colombia.

They analyzed the soil samples of 36 plots through different elevations and types of land use, including plains, mid-elevation and high Andean forests.

They found that – while the overall organic soil carbon (SOC) is substantial in Andean forests – large Andean forests had stocks of nine to ten times higher than those in warmer and lower forests and the tropical forest of the Amazonian basin.

The study was led by Dr. Carmen R. Montes-Pulido of Universidad Nacional Abierta Ya Distancia, Professor Ted Feldpausch of the University of Exeter and colleagues from James Cook University and the Instituto Nacional de Pesquis da Amazônia. The results are published in the journal World change biology.

Professor Feldpausch said: “Our study highlights the long -term inherited effects of forest fires on Andean forest soils. These are the first data of this type for the Andes of the North and carbon carbon of carbon soil.

Research revealed that average annual precipitation, clay content of the soil and pH were the main environmental factors linked to storage of ground PYC. These factors influence the formation and preservation of PYC in the soil, highlighting the interaction between climate, soil chemistry and the history of fire to shape carbon stocks.

Dr. Carmen R. Montes-Pulido said: “The results highlight the larger than expected contribution of the PYC to the total carbon pool in Andean forest soils and its importance as a stable and persistent carbon form, in particular in the planned global warming scenarios.”

These research results are essential to improve our understanding of the carbon cycle in tropical mountain ecosystems and refine global carbon models, because PYC is much slower to break down – more hundreds of years – than other forms of carbon of the soil.

The study shows that the PYC in Andean forest soils, in particular in cooler and drier elevations, is not only a significant carbon reservoir, but also a key component of the long -term storage capacity of the carbon of these long -term vulnerable ecosystems.

As climate change increases temperatures, understanding PYC dynamics in these altitude gradients is becoming more and more important for conservation and climate attenuation strategies.