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Comparing soil carbon sequestration in coastal freshwater wetlands with various geomorphic features and plant communities in Veracruz, Mexico

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Abstract

Background and aims

Wetlands are important carbon sinks across the planet. However, soil carbon sequestration in tropical freshwater wetlands has been studied less than its counterpart in temperate wetlands. We compared carbon stocks and carbon sequestration in freshwater wetlands with various geomorphic features (estuarine, perilacustrine and depressional) and various plant communities (marshes and swamps) on the tropical coastal plain of the Gulf of Mexico in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. These swamps are dominated by Ficus insipida, Pachira aquatic and Annona glabra and the marshes by Typha domingensis, Thalia geniculata, Cyperus giganteus, and Pontederia sagittata.

Methods

The soil carbon concentration and bulk density were measured every 2 cm along 80 cm soil profiles in five swamps and five marshes. Short-term sediment accretion rates were measured during a year using horizontal makers in three of the five swamps and marshes, the carbon sequestration was calculated using the accretion rates, and the bulk density and the percentage of organic carbon in the surficial layer was measured.

Results

The average carbon concentration ranged from 50 to 150 gC kg−1 in the marshes and 50 to 225 gC kg−1 in the swamps. When the wetlands were grouped according to their geomorphic features, no significant differences in the carbon stock (P = 0.095) were found (estuarine (25.50 ± 2.26 kgC m−2), perilacustrine (28.33 ± 2.74 kgC m−2) and depressional wetlands (34.93 ± 4.56 kgC m−2)). However, the carbon stock was significantly higher (P = 0.030) in the swamps (34.96 ± 1.3 kgC m−2) than in the marshes (25.85 ± 1.19 kgC m−2). The average sediment accretion rates were 1.55 ± 0.09 cm yr−1 in the swamps and 0.84 ± 0.02 cm yr−1 in the marshes with significant differences (P = 0.040). The rate of carbon sequestration was higher (P = 0.001) in swamp soils (0.92 ± 0.12 kgC m−2 yr−1) than marsh soils (0.31 ± 0.08 kgC m−2 yr−1). Differences in the rates of carbon sequestration associated with geomorphic features were found between the swamp ecosystems (P < 0.05); i.e., higher values were found in the swamps than in the marshes in perilacustrine and estuarine wetlands (P < 0.05). However, no significant differences (P = 0.324) in carbon sequestration rates were found between the marsh and swamp areas of the depressional site.

Conclusions

Swamp soils are more important contributors to the carbon stock and sequestration than are marsh soils, resulting in a reduction in global warming, which suggests that the plant community is an important factor that needs to be considered in global carbon budgets and projects of restoration and conservation of wetlands.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this work was provided by the Mexican National Council for Science and Technology -CONACYT- through the basic science project No. 081942, Sectorial Fund SEMARNAT-CONACYT Project No. 107887 and the PhD. scholarship No. 35192. The authors thank Alejandro Hernández, Lamberto Aragón, Ranulfo Castillo, Monserrat Vidal, J. Alejandro Marín and Carmelo Maximiliano for their help in the field work. We are grateful to the local guides who accompanied us throughout the field work: Tomas León Rodríguez and Eduardo Lauranchet.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigaciones Tropicales, Universidad Veracruzana, Casco de la Ex Hacienda Lucas Martín, Privada de Araucarias S/N. Col. Periodistas, AP. 525, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico

    José Luis Marín-Muñiz

  2. Institute of Ecology, Antigua Carretera a Coatepec # 351 El Haya, 91070, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico

    María E. Hernández & Patricia Moreno-Casasola

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  1. José Luis Marín-Muñiz
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  2. María E. Hernández
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  3. Patricia Moreno-Casasola
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Correspondence to José Luis Marín-Muñiz.

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Marín-Muñiz, J.L., Hernández, M.E. & Moreno-Casasola, P. Comparing soil carbon sequestration in coastal freshwater wetlands with various geomorphic features and plant communities in Veracruz, Mexico. Plant Soil 378, 189–203 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-013-2011-7

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