RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article T1 Carbon accumulation in the biomass and soil of different aged secondary forests in the humid tropics of Costa Rica A1 Fonseca , William A1 Rey Benayas, José María A1 Federico , Alice K1 Biomass models K1 Carbon pools K1 Tree plantations K1 Natural regeneration K1 Succession age K1 Medio Ambiente K1 Environmental science AB Efforts are needed in order to increase confidence for carbon accounts in the land use sector, especially in tropical forest ecosystems that often need to turn to default values given the lack of precise and reliable site specific data to quantify their carbon sequestration and storage capacity. The aim of this study was then to estimate biomass and carbon accumulation in young secondary forests, from 4 and up to 20 years of age, as well as its distribution among the different pools (tree including roots, herbaceous understory, dead wood, litter and soil), in humid tropical forests of Costa Rica. Carbon fraction for the different pools and tree components (stem, branches, leaves and roots) was estimated and varies between 37.3% (±3.3) and 50.3% (±2.9). Average carbon content in the soil was 4.1% (±2.1). Average forest plant biomass was 82.2 (±47.9) Mg ha−1 and the mean annual increment for carbon in the biomass was 4.2 Mg ha−1 yr−1. Approximately 65.2% of total biomass was found in the aboveground tree components, while 14.2% was found in structural roots and the rest in the herbaceous vegetation and necromass. Carbon in the soil increased by 1.1 Mg ha−1 yr−1. Total stored carbon in the forest was 180.4 Mg ha−1 at the age of 20 years. In these forests, most of the carbon (51&-83%) was stored in the soil. Models selected to estimate biomass and carbon in trees as predicted by basal area had R2 adjustments above 95%. Results from this study were then compared with those obtained for a variety of secondary and primary forests in different Latin-American tropical ecosystems and in tree plantations in the same study area. SN 0378-1127 YR 2011 FD 2011 LK http://hdl.handle.net/10017/40646 UL http://hdl.handle.net/10017/40646 LA eng NO Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica DS MINDS@UW RD 29-mar-2024