Chin J Plant Ecol ›› 2006, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (4): 539-544.DOI: 10.17521/cjpe.2006.0071

• Research Articles •     Next Articles

VEGETATION CARBON STORAGE OF MAJOR SHRUBLANDS IN CHINA

HU Hui-Feng1, WANG Zhi-Heng2, LIU Guo-Hua1,*(), FU Bo-Jie1   

  1. 1 State Key Laboratory of Systems Ecosystem, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
    2 Department of Ecology, College of Environmental Sciences, Center for Ecological Research & Education, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
  • Received:2005-10-17 Accepted:2005-12-14 Online:2006-10-17 Published:2006-07-30
  • Contact: LIU Guo-Hua

Abstract:

Background and Aims Shrublands is one of the major types of terrestrial ecosystems, which widely distributes from tropical to polar regions. Due to their largely distributional area in China, it is very important for us to exactly estimate their carbon storages and spatial distributions. Answers to the following questions were sought: (a) How much is the vegetation carbon storage of major shrublands in China? (b) How are their spatial distributions in China?
Methods Based on published biomass data in shrublands and 1∶4 000 000 digital vegetation map of China, carbon storage of major shrublands in China was estimated using the method of mean biomass carbon density for different shrublands types.
Key Results The carbon storage of six shrublands in China is 1.68±0.12 Pg C (1 Pg = 1015 g) with an total area of 15 462.64×104 hm2. The average vegetation carbon density is 10.88±0.77 Mg C·hm-2, varying from 5.92 to 17.00 Mg C·hm-2 for different shrubland types. The distribution of shrublands is spatially heterogeneous in the country. Shrublands in three provinces (Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan) in Southwest China occupies 23.5% of the total area and contributes to approximately one-third (32.6%) of the total carbon storage of six shrubland types in China due to favorable climeste and soil conditions. The area of six shrubland types in Inner Mongolia is the second largest among all the provinces. However, the vegetation carbon storage in Inner Mongolia shrublands is only 84.81 Tg C (1 Tg = 1012 g), following that of Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Jiangxi, and Hunan. The probable reason is ascribed to its arid or semiarid climatic conditions. Although shrublands hold about 1.5 times the area of forests in China, the carbon storage of shrublands corresponds 27%-40% of forests because carbon density of shrublands accounts for only one-fifth of forests. Similarly, the proportion of vegetation carbon storage of shrublands to that of grasslands in China varies from 36% to 55% due to the different areas of grasslands used in previous studies.
Conclusions This study draw the following conclusions: (a) As important ecosystem types in China, shrublands hold large vegetation carbon storage, which is main component of China's vegetation carbon storage. (b) Because of different climatic and soil conditions, their distributions are spatially heterogeneous in China and The average vegetation carbon density varies greatly for different shrubland types.

Key words: Shrublands, Vegetation carbon storage, Carbon density