Environmental factors control the accumulation of aboveground biomass (AB)
in tropical forests, along with the role of AB in climate change mitigation. As such, the
objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of factors such as forest type, succession,
abundance of individuals, species richness, height, diameter, texture, and soil nutrient
levels on the AB in mature and postmining forests in Chocó, Colombia. Five plots each
were set up in primary and postmining forests with 15 and 30 years of regeneration, in
which the amount of AB was measured and related to the environmental factors. The AB
was 178.32 t ha−1 in the mature forests and 35.17 and 56.3 t ha−1 after 15 and 30 years of
postmining regeneration, respectively. Furthermore, the general AB level was determined
by the ecosystem type, diameter, richness, abundance, Shannon evenness, and Margalef diversity.
In mature forests, the AB amount was positively influenced by height and richness,
and negatively influenced by dominance and evenness; in areas degraded by mining, the
AB level was positively related to richness and equity, and negatively related to species
diversity and soil silt. In summary, environmental factors determine the carbon storage
in the forests in Chocó. Mining reduces the function of these ecosystems in mitigating
climate change.
