Temperate forests are important since they provide multiple goods and services essential for human beings and life on the planet in general; particularly, they are key in the regulation of climate and biogeochemical cycles. Specifically, forest management in these ecosystems favors the fixation and storage of carbon in the soil, reducing the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) due to changes in environmental conditions, vegetation structure, and composition (Terrer et al., 2021). The importance of carbon in the soil results in the fact that it improves the availability of nutrients and improves soil fertility and structure, being key to the productivity of forest ecosystems (Gerke, 2022).

Soil stores a greater amount of carbon (1500 pg); Buczko et al. (2023) indicate that one square meter of forest land stores about 15 kg of C. In particular, soil humidity and temperature, leaf litter, root distribution, and soil microbiology can be modified depending on the intensity and the felling or practice carried out on the forest mass (Buraka et al., 2022); which directly impacts soil carbon stocks (Mushinski et al., 2017). However, this sequestration capacity can also vary due to various factors such as climate, precipitation, temperature, and solar energy, as well as species composition and site-specific conditions (Buczko et al., 2023).

Reed et al. (2021) point out that soil can be a sink or a source of carbon; this is a function of perturbation and changes in land use that break the carbon cycle. Therefore, it is important to analyze what factors are responsible for storage, allowing global climate change to be mitigated. In this sense, Lefèvre et al. (2017) point out that the factors that control the decomposition of SOM are soil temperature and water content, which significantly influence the storage of C in the soil due to their effect on microbial activity, and in turn the microbiological composition. The amount of SOC stored in the soil depends on the balance between the amount of C entering the soil and leaving the soil as gases. From microbial mineralization, C can also be lost or gained through soil erosion or deposition, leading to the redistribution of C from the soil on a local, landscape, and regional scale.

In Mexico, there is a great variability of climatic, geomorphological, and edaphological conditions, resulting in a wide diversity of habitats and species (Herrera-Romero et al., 2020). The quantity, quality, and distribution of organic carbon in the soil depend on the interaction of climatic, edaphic, topographic, and biological factors. Specifically, topography plays an important role in defining soil properties with respect to temperature and moisture regimes and is considered to be one of the main soil-forming factors since hillside position, slope, and orientation are important factors in soil formation and can affect soil moisture content. plant growth and distribution of SOC (Jakšić et al., 2021; Zhang et al., 2023).

On the slopes, sequences of soils are formed with different characteristics between depth and texture. In the upper part of the slope, shallow soils of coarse texture are formed due to the erosive processes of the surface soil. The low slopes are characterized by the formation of deeper soils with fine textures and differentiated profiles. This is associated with higher concentrations of SOC on lower slopes due to soil deposition from the dragging of dead plant material (branches and leaves) from the upper part. On the other hand, orientation plays an important role on slopes Jakšić et al. (2021) and Maheshwori et al. (2025) point out that north-facing slopes receive less direct sunlight, storing more SOC in the soil, unlike south-facing slopes that are warmer and drier and present more sparse vegetation. and therefore, the accumulation of SOC in minor. However, it has been documented that the East orientation stores a greater amount of SOC compared to the North and West orientations (Niu et al., 2022).

Understanding the spatial dynamics of the SOC on a slope is important to identify areas of vulnerability to climate change, which are more prone to erosion and soil degradation due to their relief. Most research assesses slopes as a whole (Buraka et al., 2022; Jakšić et al., 2021; Maheshwori et al., 2025; Niu et al., 2022), however, the dynamics within a slope change in the areas that make it up, for example: the upper areas of the slopes are more vulnerable to losing SOC due to sediment dragging, the lower part is benefited by the accumulation of organic matter, this is very common in agricultural areas, But in a poorly managed forest ecosystem, the dynamics could change by implementing proper management practices. According to Jakšić et al. (2021) and Leal et al. (2023), areas under forest management reduce cover by modifying soil properties depending on the intensity of management practices. Therefore, the objective was to analyze the distribution of soil organic carbon stored along a slope in different orientations in a temperate forest under management in the Ejido Adolfo Ruiz Cortines in Northwest Mexico, belonging to the mountain massif of the Sierra Madre Occidental.

The results show that SOC reserves are influenced by the orientation and position of the slope, modifying the behavior of the physical and chemical properties of the soil. Topography is an environmental variable with a direct impact on the dynamics of soil properties (Jakšić et al., 2021). According to Segura-Castruita et al. (2005), temperate forest soils have a high SOC storage capacity of an average of 65.5 Mg ha^-1, coinciding with the present study, where on average this ecosystem stores 65.40 Mg ha^-1. The characteristics of the soil changed according to orientation. Specifically, the East orientation presented the best conditions with high levels of SOM (11.89 %), higher moisture and porosity content (12.37 and 81.65 %), low bulk density (0.49 g cm^-3) and high litter and humus contents (3.23 and 3.94 Mg ha^-1) which according to Buraka et al. (2022) a higher SOM content in the surface layer makes soils more porous, reducing Bd, improving hillside productivity by increasing its capacity to store SOC. In contrast to the West, it is evident that there is a loss of SOM as it contains lower reserves of litter and humus (2.55 and 1.79 Mg ha^-1, respectively), indicating a decrease in organic matter of 47 % compared to the East (Tapia-Coronado et al., 2022). Egli et al. (2009) point out that this behavior is attributed to the accumulation of labile and poorly degraded organic materials, as well as to low microbial activity, which may be associated with the acidity or low humidity (4.46 %) observed on the slope, unlike the East orientation (12.37 %).

Regarding position, the upper part of the slope stored 83.66 Mg ha^-1, while the middle and lower parts showed a decrease in soil organic carbon (SOC) reserves of 31.49% and 28.12%, respectively. This could be attributed to soil conservation practices implemented during forest management on the slopes, such as cortazales residual plant material against the slope, preventing erosion and soil displacement to the lower parts, thus resulting in higher accumulation at the top of the slope (García Gallegos et al., 2023).

The positions on the slopes also showed a different dynamic. Specifically, the upper part of the slope was the one with the highest content (83.66 Mg ha^-1), while the middle and lower parts had the lowest accumulation, with 57.31 Mg ha^-1 and 60.13 Mg ha^-1, respectively (Fig. 4). Carbon storage by position on the slope behaved as follows: high> low>medium. The results show that there are statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in SOC content between slope positions.

The orientation of the slope was key to increasing the amount of SOC accumulated in the soil. Changes in the slope and the amount of solar radiation associated with different slope orientations affect temperature and humidity conditions, increasing the storage capacity of SOC reserves. According to Rawlik et al. (2019), north- and east-facing slopes present more favorable moisture conditions than south- and west-facing slopes. In contrast, in this research, the South orientation presented similar conditions to the North and South facing slopes, which could be associated with the vegetation cover conditions given by the forest management of the area, which generate similar microclimatic conditions in the three orientations and, therefore, a similar SOM decomposition rate (Staszel et al., 2021).

The slopes showed heterogeneity in dasometric characteristics, which influence the quantity and quality of organic material deposited in the soil, which has a direct impact on soil nutrition and carbon reservoirs (Gautam & Shapkota, 2025). Leal et al. (2023) point out that dasometric variables are key in the production and decomposition of SOM; since the opening of the canopy and the change in the composition of the species are modified through forest management, affecting the climatic variables of the place (solar radiation, relative humidity, humidity, and soil temperature, among others). The organic carbon content in the soil by orientation was significantly different, which could be related to the variability of the dasometric characteristics present in the areas. For example, the highest density of vegetation cover was found in the South and East orientation (5.04 and 4.46 m), in the latter, the largest number of individuals belonging to the genus Quercus, which according to Tapia-Coronado et al. (2022) is one of the variables with the greatest influence on SOC contents, considering that it is the main source of organic material to the soil. This coincides with Cano-Flores et al. (2020), who found higher concentrations of SOC in areas dominated by the genus Quercus, attributed to the fact that the integration of carbon and nutrients is faster in Quercus than in Pinus, given by the low contents of lignin and water-soluble compounds.

Various studies attribute that the distribution of SOC responds to multiple complex interactions between the orientation of the slopes (topography), the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil, as well as the contributions of organic material from vegetation (mainly leaves, branches, and fruits) (Buraka et al., 2022; Gerke, 2022; Jakšić et al., 2021; Niu et al., 2022); in particular, the orientation defines the microclimate of the slopes where moisture flows and soil temperature impact the rate of microbial decomposition of organic matter (Pardo-Plaza et al., 2019), for example, in areas with little or no sunlight incidence, biological activity is inhibited, leading to low SOC content (Ameray et al., 2021; Haile et al., 2024; Rawlik et al., 2019). Likewise, a direct incidence of the sun can develop a vegetation cover of species with a lower contribution and quality of organic matter (Hao et al., 2025). Therefore, we can define that vegetation regulates microclimates, creating a suitable point for the accumulation of carbon and stability in the soil, since water and wind erosion on the slopes is reduced, which is reflected in the results of this study.

Based on the results, it can be defined that topography plays a determining role in the capture of Soil Organic Carbon (SOC). Particularly, on the slopes with North and South exposure, they registered the highest concentrations of carbon in the first 20 cm of the soil. This highlights the importance of the strategic management of plant residues as complementary actions to enhance carbon sequestration in the upper parts of the slopes.