Land Use Changes and their Effects on GHG Dynamics in the State of Durango

Actions are being taken worldwide to evaluate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in different countries. According to reports by the National Development Plan in Mexico, several national GHG inventories have been performed by different sectors. The present work quantifies the emissions and absorption of GHG resulting from land use changes in the state of Durango. The IPCC method was applied using the Greenhouse Gas Inventory Software, version 1.3.1. Emissions of gases other than CO2 produced by burning were calculated. Coniferous vegetation lost the largest amount of biomass and therefore emitted the most CO2, while abandoned agricultural land resulted in a capture of CO2, mostly from the recuperation of xeric shrubs and hardwoods. Most of the GHG emissions (other than CO2 produced by burning) were emitted in regions containing coniferous vegetation.