Land-use change drives soil organic carbon losses in a temperate montane forest ecosystem

Forests represent essential global carbon stocks; however, their storage capacity is diminishing due to deforestation, degradation, and land-use changes driven by anthropogenic activities. The soil organic carbon store (SOC) is the most critical reservoir, accounting for over 40% of the total carbon stored in forests. This study assesses the SOC storage capacity of forest ecosystems compared to other land uses in the Texcoco Forest Region, State of Mexico. Vegetation was classified into three phases: Phase 1, primary or undisturbed land use and vegetation (LUV); Phase 2, modified LUVs with disturbances such as fires, pests, or logging; and Phase 3, LUVs derived from anthropogenic activities, including agriculture, forest plantations, and fruit tree plantations. The largest SOC reserve was found in sites with the least anthropogenic disturbance. Forest ecosystems contained up to three times more SOC than Phase 3 land uses. Coniferous forests constituted the largest SOC reservoirs, demonstrating greater efficiency than both agricultural and oak ecosystems, which exhibited comparatively low SOC stocks.