Format: ORAL

Vctor Alfonso Mondragn Valencia1,2, Carolina Bambage Caicedo3, Apolinar Figueroa Casas1

1. Doctorado en Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad del Cauca, Colombia. 2. Grupo de estudios sobre diversidad vegetal, Universidad del Cauca, Colombia. 3. Institución Educativa Belén, Colombia

Soil is the most important carbon (C) reserve in the terrestrial biosphere, soil organic C (SOC) is the result of the balance between the contributions of organic matter to soils and the loss of C through decomposition, leaching and erosion of organic matter, the main source of organic matter is dead plant material from both surface and underground tissues. The potential of soils as carbon sinks has attracted considerable scientific attention in recent years, as an alternative to mitigate warming and which is a key factor for soil health, there are areas that can be strategic to achieve this objective. Like tropical Andean ecosystems with soils that are mostly derived from volcanic ash and important carbon storage and stabilizers, due to their high content of organic matter, these ecosystems present high biological, cultural and agricultural diversity. These ecosystems are altered by the high concentration of human settlements and changes in land use; Given this situation, research questions formulated in the review were raised, a gap in knowledge of SOC sequestration in tropical Andean ecosystems has been identified and the methods and approaches for its study must be clarified, understanding that there are various techniques for determining C, but little is addressed from socio-ecological systems and there is diversity of information regarding C models, this research suggests addressing the sequestration of SOC within an interdisciplinary and systemic approach. This implies the development of methodological, sociological, ecological and technological processes that allow us to understand the problem from a holistic and integrative perspective, which allows us to understand the dynamics of communities in the territories surrounding the conservation of ecosystem services.