Abstract: With the expanding of the plantations in recent years, artificial forestry plays a more and more important role in carbon budget of the terrestrial ecosystem in China. This study estimated biomasses, carbon stocks, carbon densities and carbon sinks of the poplar plantations and the desert shruberies in Karamay through field investigations. According to the data observed and the modelling analysis, the study came with the following conclusions: ① The average unit biomass of the poplar plantations was 51.30 t·hm^-2; mean carbon density was 24.59 t·hm^-2; the total carbon storage was 73 715.41 t, which demonstrated that poplar plantations played a certain role in carbon sequestration. ② Compare with under the desert shrubberies, biomass, mean carbon density and the total carbon storage of poplar plantations increased 50.56 t·hm^-2, 24.26 t·hm^-2 and 72 726.14 t, respectively. The results of the study indicated that afforestation can effectively increase the carbon sequestration of the terrestrial vegetation ecosystem in a desert environment in arid areas. It is a feasible way to achieve the carbon emission targets.

Key words: carbon sinks, poplar plantations, desert shrubbery, baseline, carbon storage, Karamay