International Journal of Environmental Science and Development

Abstract—Moors are ecosystems with great biodiversity that are considered as one of the main CO2 sinks. Nowadays, moors have attracted the interest of worldwide population who are concern about environment protection and global warming. Nevertheless, there are productive and economic activities that are constantly threatening these ecosystems. Livestock is one the main economic activities for high Andean population. Producers use to underutilize the native vegetative material of the area and tend to use foreign forage species that are vulnerable to adverse weather conditions and require especial management mechanisms. This paper presents the study conducted for quantifying the carbon store capability of two types of pastures (naturalized and introduced) and their ability for increasing the accumulation of soil carbon. The applied methodology included the use of temporary sample plots. All storage components were analyzed (e.g. biomass, roots and soil). The obtained results demonstrated that naturalized pastures have mayor capability for capturing carbon.

Index Terms—Carbon dioxide, carbon storage, biomass, pastures, naturalized grass, introduced grass.

Jimenez Alejandra and Andrade Patricia are with Universidad Nacional de Chimborazo, Riobamba, Ecuador (e-mail: ajimenez@unach.edu.ec, aandrade@unach.edu.ec).
Jimenez Mauro is with Universidad Nacional de Chimborazo, Riobamba, Ecuador and Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain (e-mail: mjjimenez@unach.edu.ec).
Fiallos Luis is with ESPOCH University, Spain.
Jimenez Santiago and Jimenez Cristhy are with Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo, Riobamba, Ecuador.

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Cite: Jimenez Alejandra, Jimenez Santiago, Jimenez Cristhy, Jimenez Mauro, Fiallos Luis, and Andrade Patricia, "Naturalized vs. Introduced Grasses: What about Carbon Capture Capability?," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 7, no. 9, pp. 681-686, 2016.