Uso de rasgos funcionales de plantas como estimadores de carbono almacenado en biomasa aérea

Abstract

<p>Los métodos utilizados para estimar carbono en ecosistemas tropicales se han fundamentado en el conocimiento de la biomasa aérea seca de los árboles. Ello implica altos costos de extracción y un impacto negativo sobre el ecosistema estudiado. Una posible alternativa a este método es el uso de rasgos funcionales de plantas. En esta investigación se realiza una revisión de publicaciones adelantadas en la aplicación de diversidad funcional a la estimación de carbono almacenado en bosques. Inicialmente se presenta un marco teórico sobre rasgos funcionales, seguido de un análisis sobre cuáles de ellos están asociados con la estimación de carbono. Se identifican los índices de diversidad empleados en los estudios y se concluye planteando estudios futuros relacionados con diversidad funcional y carbono almacenado en bosques.</p>

Macro-Morphological Traits of Leaves for Urban Tree Selection for Air Pollution Biomonitoring: A Review

“…Our results suggest three main applications of leaf macro-morphology in the context of urban air pollution ( n = 10): green infrastructure (50.0%) [ 10 , 17 , 38 , 67 , 76 ], air quality management (30.0%) [ 36 , 70 , 77 ], and tree management (20.0%) [ 7 , 48 ]. This trend was consistent across the documents detected, regardless of the study location.…”

“…These leaf traits also make it possible to assess the response of plant species to their environment and are associated with carbon sequestration. The latter is a fundamental ecosystem service in the regulation of global warming, and is associated with the photosynthetic functions of the plants [ 17 ]. In addition, Kichenin et al [ 67 ] reported that these leaf traits varied with the altitudinal gradient.…”

“…Additionally, Singh et al [ 58 ] reported that LA in tree species is directly related to PM concentrations, because at higher LA, tree species retain more PM [ 70 ]. Some researchers [ 16 , 17 ] suggested that the previous trend was a response to urban pressures and that this varied with the tree species considered. Thus, the findings suggest that the identification of these variations in leaf traits may have a significant influence during the selection of tree species for the urban air pollution monitoring [ 1 , 58 , 65 ].…”

“…The findings suggested that during green infrastructure design, the urban infrastructure itself be considered for the selection and location of the selected trees. The selection, location, and design of green infrastructure should not only be based on aesthetic aspects or the survivability of species, but the increasing pressures of urbanization on these urban ecosystems must be considered [ 20 , 84 ] to justify that its implementation provides ecosystem benefits fundamental to the survival and good quality of life of urban communities [ 14 , 17 , 85 ]. Therefore, studies on LMTs and functional diversity of trees must be increased and deepened to complement these types of sustainable urban applications [ 5 , 38 ].…”

“…Functional traits are defined as the set of phenological, morphological, and physiological characteristics that plants possess to ensure their survival success, provide insight into ecological dynamics, and responses to changes in the environment [ 15 ]. Leaf area (LA), specific leaf area (SLA), and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) are among the most evident leaf functional traits (macro-morphological), due to their easy measurement and sensitivity to environmental variations, [ 16 , 17 ]. There are other leaf functional traits (micro-morphological), such as stomatal density, leaf thickness, leaf type, and minimal photosynthetic unit, that have a great influence on ecosystem processes such as primary productivity, biogeochemical cycles, and organic matter decomposition [ 6 , 18 ].…”