Using China's ground observations, e.g., forest inventory, grassland resource, agricultural statistics, climate, and satellite data, we estimate terrestrial vegetation carbon sinks for China's major biomes between 1981 and 2000. The main results are in the following: (1) Forest area and forest biomass car- bon (C) stock increased from 116.5×106 ha and 4.3 Pg C (1 Pg C = 1015 g C) in the early 1980s to 142.8×106 ha and 5.9 Pg C in the early 2000s, respectively. Forest biomass carbon density increased form 36.9 Mg C/ha (1 Mg C = 106 g C) to 41.0 Mg C/ha, with an annual carbon sequestration rate of 0.075 Pg C/a. Grassland, shrub, and crop biomass sequestrate carbon at annual rates of 0.007 Pg C/a, 0.014― 0.024 Pg C/a, and 0.0125―0.0143 Pg C/a, respectively. (2) The total terrestrial vegetation C sink in China is in a range of 0.096―0.106 Pg C/a between 1981 and 2000, accounting for 14.6%―16.1% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by China's industry in the same period. In addition, soil carbon sink is estimated at 0.04―0.07 Pg C/a. Accordingly, carbon sequestration by China's terrestrial ecosystems (vegetation and soil) offsets 20.8%―26.8% of its industrial CO2 emission for the study period. (3) Considerable uncertainties exist in the present study, especially in the estimation of soil carbon sinks, and need further intensive investigation in the future.
There is a general agreement that forest ecosystems in the Northern Hemisphere function as signifi-cant sinks for atmospheric CO2; however, their magnitude and distribution remain large uncertainties. In this paper, we report the carbon (C) stock and its change of vegetation, forest floor detritus, and mineral soil, annual net biomass increment and litterfall production, and respiration of vegetation and soils between 1992 to 1994, for three temperate forest ecosystems, birch (Betula platyphylla) forest, oak (Quercus liaotungensis) forest and pine (Pinus tabulaeformis) plantation in Mt. Dongling, Beijing, China. We then evaluate the C budgets of these forest ecosystems. Our results indicated that total C density (organic C per hectare) of these forests ranged from 250 to 300 t C ha-1, of which 35―54 t C ha-1 from vegetation biomass C and 209―244 t C ha-1 from soil organic C (1 m depth, including forest floor detritus). Biomass C of all three forests showed a net increase, with 1.33―3.55 t C ha-1 a-1 during the study period. Litterfall production, vegetation autotrophic respiration, and soil heterotrophic respira-tion were estimated at 1.63―2.34, 2.19―6.93, and 1.81―3.49 t C ha-1 a-1, respectively. Ecosystem gross primary production fluctuated between 5.39 and 12.82 t C ha-1 a-1, about half of which (46%―59%, 3.20―5.89 t C ha-1 a-1) was converted to net primary production. Our results suggested that pine forest fixed C of 4.08 t ha-1 a-1, whereas secondary forests (birch and oak forest) were nearly in balance in CO2 exchange between the atmosphere and ecosystems.
FANG JingYun LIU GuoHua ZHU Biao WANG XiaoKe LIU ShaoHui
Soil holds the largest nitrogen(N)pool in terrestrial ecosystems,but estimates of soil N stock remain controversial. Storage and spatial distribution of soil N in China were estimated and the relationships between soil N density and environmental factors were explored using data from China's Second National Soil Survey and field investigation in northwest China and the Tibetan Plateau.China's soil N storage at a depth of one meter was estimated at 7.4 Pg,with an average density of 0.84 kg m^(-2).Soil N density appeared to be high in southwest and northeast China and low in the middle areas of the country.Soil N density increased from the arid to semi-arid zone in northern China,and decreased from cold-temperate to tropical zone in the eastern part of the country.An analysis of general linear model suggested that climate and vegetation determined the spatial pattern of soil N density for natural vegetation,which explained 75.4% of the total variance.
