EDAFOLOGIA, Vol. 11(2), pp 149-157, 2004
CONTENIDO DE CARBONO ORGÁNICO EN EL SUELO Y FACTORES DE CONTROL EN LA ESPAÑA PENINSULAR
C. HONTORIA1, J.C. RODRÍGUEZ-MURILLO2, A. SAA1
1Departamento de Edafología. Escuela Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Avda. Complutense s/n. 28040 Madrid. e-mail: kirah@eda.etsia.upm.es 2Centro de Ciencias Medioambientales. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. C/ Serrano 115, Dpdo. Madrid.
The carbon sequestration in soils is one of the current strategies to mitigate the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions responsible of climate change. Besides, it is a way to diminish the degradation processes of soils and increase the soil quality. In this context, research about original carbon content in soils and C changes is needed. We studied the organic carbon content of surface horizon in peninsular Spain and its relation with some soil and site properties. A soil database was elaborated with information from published soil studies. Different climatic zones were analysed in the study. Soil organic content of surface horizon showed high variability and was highly influenced by land use. Climate and land use were the main factors controlling the organic carbon content (R2adj = 43%), while the influence of the rest of the variables was much lower (R2adj = 6%). However, the last variables seem to play a major role in the driest zones of peninsular Spain (R2adj = 14%) than in the humid zones (R2adj = 1%).
Keywords: soil organic carbon content, carbon sequestration, control factors, soil database, climate, land use, Spain.