Abstract

MARROQUIN MORALES, Pablo; JIMENEZ PEREZ, Javier; YERENA YAMALLEL, José Israel  and  SANDOVAL GARCIA, Rufino. Carbon storage in Coffea arabica L. in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas. Rev. Mex. Cienc. Agríc [online]. 2024, vol.15, n.2, e3315.  Epub June 21, 2024. ISSN 2007-0934.  https://doi.org/10.29312/remexca.v15i2.3315.

Carbon accumulation in coffee is a way to reduce greenhouse gases and combat climate change; nevertheless, in the Sierra de Chiapas, there is no accurate information on carbon capture in coffee plantations. Quantifying carbon is essential to value this ecosystem service and conserve coffee plantations through subsidies. For this reason, this research aims to evaluate the carbon stored in the aerial biomass of coffee in two altitudinal gradients and determine the concentration of carbon (CC) and nitrogen, with CC being an indispensable element in obtaining the carbon stored in coffee. The study was carried out at two altitudes: the first at 1 200 m and the second at an altitude of 1 500 m, in the year 2022. To estimate the carbon, first, the biomass was estimated indirectly using an allometric equation for the species, then the concentration of carbon and nitrogen was determined with a device called Thermo Scientific Flash 2000 NC Soils Analyzer, which works by complete combustion at 950 °C. Once the biomass and the concentration of carbon in coffee were obtained, they were multiplied, thus obtaining the stored carbon; for carbon dioxide, the stored carbon was multiplied by the constant 3.67. The results indicate significant differences in the range of 1 200 masl (10.72 t C ha-1) and the lowest carbon storage in the range of 1 500 masl (4.74 t C ha-1). This indicates that the altitude of the site influences carbon capture in coffee; the lower the altitude, the more carbon stored there will be in the coffee.

Keywords : altitude; biomass; coffee.