Carbon capture and flow in a sylvopastoral system of the Colombian Andean zone

Abstract

A protocol was developed to measure carbon capture and monitor the flow of C as an environmental service provided by a sylvopastoril system (SSP) of Acacia decurrens + Pennisetum clandestinum in the Colombian Andes (2538 m latitude), employing two densities of sowing of trees: high (HD) and low (LD) (1111 and 407 trees/ha) and as the control treatment, areas of pasture only devoid of trees. In addition, the carbon flow between grazing Holstein cows and the soil was evaluated by measuring feces production resulting from consumption of the biomass system. Six years after establishment of the SSP, the total amount of C in trees, pasture plants and soil was estimated at 260 and 251 t/ha for HD and LD, respectively, as compared to 154t/ha for the control. The animal flow of C through animal feces was estimated as 0.50, 0.47, and 0.48 t per standard cow unit (600 kg liveweight) for HD, LD and control, respectively. Averaged across two years, the respective annual increases of C in the aerial part of the trees were 9.9 and 11.2 tC for HD and LD.