Composición florística leñosa y estructural del bosque seco al suroeste de la Provincia de El Oro.

Abstract

The present research aims to analyze the floristic composition, structure and carbon sequestration capacity in three representative sites of dry forests in the southwest of the province of El Oro, Ecuador: The REAr, the Protected Forest of the Arenillas Technical College and a remnant of forest in the Parroquia Palmales. These ecosystems present different degrees of anthropic disturbance, which allows us to evaluate their ecological status. Diversity indices such as the Shannon-Wiener index were used, obtaining values of 2.60 in the REAr, 2.26 in the BPCTA and 1.71 in Palmales. In addition, diameter at breast height (DBH), height (H) and wood density (MD) were measured, parameters that allowed estimating carbon sequestration. The results showed that the BPCTA has the highest biomass and carbon storage capacity (18,436.52 kg of biomass and 9,218.26 kg of carbon), followed by the REAr (9,740.86 kg of biomass and 4,870.43 kg of carbon), while Palmales had the lowest values (5,629.16 kg of biomass and 2,814.58 kg of carbon). The results highlight the importance of conserving dry forests for their biodiversity and their capacity as carbon sinks, contributing to climate change mitigation. They also highlight the need to implement ecological restoration strategies in degraded areas such as the remaining area in Parroquia Palmales.