Abstract:

Abstract Accurate estimation of carbon storage at regional or provincial scale is important to understand the impact of global change on local terrestrial ecosystem in China. The carbon dynamics of a number of vegetation types is a key variable to carbon source and sink research at a greater scale. Based on forest resource inventory data, the organic carbon storage of forest in Shandong Province was estimated to be 43.31 Tg, accounting for 1.23% of Chinese total C pool and 78.72% of average C storage of China in terms of unit land area. The carbon densities were different among forest types, in range of 0.40–49.46 Mg·hm^–2. The actual forest carbon density is directly affected by human activities and disturbances. If considering forest succession, with more intensive management, and more rainfall, it would be more increase; and otherwise decrease or a lower increasing speed. We made a progress of research methodology which is mainly for including the four-side trees, economic forest, brush, and the soil in forest for the estimation, so that it would be more comprehensive and close to reality. According to the change of forest organic carbon storage and carbon density over the years, we projected its trend in future 10 years. After 3 years, the forest organic carbon storage of Shandong Province would be close to the average of China (by land area). And in 2010, it would increase to 90.31 Tg, about 2 times of the current C storage.