Assessment of Carbon Density in Natural Mountain Forest Ecosystems at Northwest China

Li Dai, Yufang Zhang, Lei Wang, Shuanli Zheng and Wenqiang Xu
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Li Dai: School of Geographic and Environmental Sciences, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550001, China
Yufang Zhang: Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Urumqi 830011, China
Lei Wang: Xinjiang Academy of Forestry Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Shuanli Zheng: College of Resources and Environment Science, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China
Wenqiang Xu: State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Urumqi 830011, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-12

Abstract: The natural mountain forests in northwest China are recognized as a substantial carbon pool and play an important role in local fragile ecosystems. This study used inventory data and detailed field measurements covering different forest age groups (young, middle-aged, near-mature, mature, old-growth forest), structure of forest (tree, herb, litter and soil layer) and trees (leaves, branches, trunks and root) to estimate biomass, carbon content ratio, carbon density and carbon storage in Altai forest ecosystems. The results showed that the average biomass of the Altai Mountains forest ecosystems was 126.67 t·hm ?2 , and the descending order of the value was tree layer (120.84 t·hm ?2 ) > herb layer (4.22 t·hm ?2 ) > litter layer (1.61 t·hm ?2 ). Among the tree parts, trunks, roots, leaves and branches accounted for 50%, 22%, 16% and 12% of the total tree biomass, respectively. The average carbon content ratio was 0.49 (range: 0.41–0.52). The average carbon density of forest ecosystems was 205.72 t·hm ?2 , and the carbon storage of the forest ecosystems was 131.35 Tg (standard deviation: 31.01) inside study area. Soil had the highest carbon storage (65.98%), followed by tree (32.81%), herb (0.78%) and litter (0.43%) layers. Forest age has significant effect on biomass, carbon content ratio, carbon density and carbon storage. The carbon density of forest ecosystems in study area was spatially distributed higher in the south and lower in north, which is influenced by climate, topography, soil types and dominant tree species.

Keywords: biomass; carbon density; field measurements; spatial distribution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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