Soil Carbon Storage in Experimental Forest Plantations with Tropical Species

Forest ecosystems represent a third of the total organic carbon (TOC) stored in the soil. However, studies still need to be carried out to generate reliable information on its soil carbon storage potential in an experimental plantation. Therefore, the objective of this research was to determine the storage of total organic carbon (TOC) in the soil in two experimental forest plantations with tropical species, located in the state of Nayarit, México. The research was carried out in two experimental plantations with tropical species, located at the Santiago Ixcuintla Experimental Field (CESIX) and at the El Verdineño Experimental Site (SEEV). The established species are Swietenia macrophylla King (mahogany), Cedrela odorata L. (cedar) and Tabebuia rosea Bertoil (pink trumpet-tree). In addition, data from dasometric variables were used in order to define if any of these variables had a similar variation to the soil TOC stock by species. The sampling was done under a randomized block experimental design in each experimental forest plantation (CESIX and SEEV). variables, none of the variables analyzed showed the same behavior in its va-riability.