Floristic Composition, Structure, and Aboveground Biomass of the Moraceae Family in an Evergreen Andean Amazon Forest, Ecuador

Abstract

The current study determined the floristic composition, structure, and aboveground biomass (AGB) of the individuals of the Moraceae family. This occurred in order to value them as a source of biomass carbon, which itself is dependent on the altitudinal gradient (601–1000 m.a.s.l.) in the evergreen foothill forest of the Ecuadorian Amazon. The study encountered 117 individuals belonging to the Moraceae family, which was grouped into 32 species. Hereby, the most abundant were the genus Ficus sp., with 9.40% relative abundance, Brosimun alicastrum with 6.84%, and Aucleopsis sp. with 5.98%. Forest structural characteristics, such as the horizontal and vertical structure, diameter at breast height (DBH), and the diameter of the tree crown, were considered for the analysis. The horizontal profile determined that the crowns of the species of the Moraceae family cover approximately 16.43% of the upper canopy within the sampling unit area. The trees of the Moraceae family have a carbon capture capacity in the projected AGB per hectare of 35.09 (Mg ha−1), with the Ficus cuatracasana Dugand species being the species with the highest projected capture per hectare, with 15.737 (Mg ha−1). These results highlight the relevance of similar studies assessing the carbon accumulation capacity of species from other families, emphasizing high commercial value species due to their timber resource.

Botanical Collection Patterns and Conservation Categories of the Most Traded Timber Species from the Ecuadorian Amazon: The Role of Protected Areas

“…The EAR is renowned for its exceptional biodiversity, particularly in terms of woody plant species [ 2 , 38 , 48 ]. Extensive botanical research has been conducted in this region, leading to a comprehensive understanding of arboreal communities and making it one of the most well-studied areas for vascular plants in the Amazon [ 18 , 49 , 50 ]. However, geographical knowledge of species distribution in tropical regions often remains limited or absent due to sampling biases [ 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ].…”

Biodiversity and Carbon Sequestration in Chakra-Type Agroforestry Systems and Humid Tropical Forests of the Ecuadorian Amazon

“…After the forest record, the characterization of species made it possible to define the composition and floristic diversity present in the sampled plots, as well as the different ecological parameters and equations used [14,33] (Table 2):…”

“…To estimate the aboveground biomass of the trees, the allometric equation proposed by [14,42] was used. For this, the plot is established where the inventory of floristic composition will be carried out, registering every individual ≥10 cm DBH.…”

“…The soil organic carbon (SOC) is obtained from the following equation [3,24,[39][40][41]. SOC = BD × (TOC/100) × D × 10000 (14) where SOC: in Mg C ha −1 ; BD: bulk density in Mg m −3 ; TOC: total organic carbon of soil %; and D corresponds to the depth in meters. TOC was determined by the Walkley-Black wet digestion method [45]; BD by the cylinder method, in which the samples are weighed and dried at 105 • C for 24 h [7,46,47].…”

“…Nevertheless, the process of soil carbon storage is based on management practices that improve and increase the amount of carbon stored as soil organic matter (OM). In this sense, the carbon store in tropical forests depends on strongly of the floristic composition, age, diversity, and density of species [11,12], storing more than 50% of the world's terrestrial carbon [13,14], and they are considered important carbon sinks [13,15,16]. Meanwhile, agroforestry systems (AFSs) stand out for the structure and composition of plant species, dependent on biophysical conditions and management [17,18], positioning them as a potential carbon storage alternative [7,9,19].…”