Arid Zone Research ›› 2023, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (4): 615-622.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2023.04.10

• Plant Ecology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Distribution characteristics of carbon density in the arbor and soil layers of Qinghai spruce forest on the southern slope of Qilian Mountains with altitude

QIU Xunxun1,2(),CAO Guangchao2,3(),ZHANG Jinhu1,2,ZHANG Zhuo4,LIU Menglin1,2   

  1. 1. College of Geographical Sciences, Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810008, Qinghai, China
    2. Qinghai Key Laboratory of Natural Geography and Environmental Process, Xining 810008, Qinghai, China
    3. Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Ecological Conservation of the Ministry of Education, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Xining 810008, Qinghai, China
    4. Kizilsu Ecological Environment Monitoring Station in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Artush 845350, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2022-07-30 Revised:2023-01-30 Online:2023-04-15 Published:2023-04-28

Abstract:

Forest biomass is the basis for studying forest primary productivity, and its carbon density is a crucial indicator for evaluating the structure and function of forest ecosystem. To study changes in the stand density of Qinghai spruce with altitude in Amidongsoe small watershed on the southern slope of Qilian Mountains, a biomass model was used to calculate the carbon density of arbor and soil layers along an altitude gradient of 2900-3200 m at different altitudes. The aim of this study was to gather basic data for estimating carbon storage in spruce forests in the Qilian Mountains and Qinghai Province. The results demonstrated that the average value of total biomass in the study area was 135.59 t·hm-2 and the total biomass decreased as the altitude increased. The average carbon density of tree layer was 70.51 t·hm-2, and the average organic carbon density of the 0-50 cm soil layer was 154.01 t·hm-2. As the altitude increased, the carbon density of the tree layer exhibited a decreasing trend, and the soil organic carbon density of the tree layer initially decreased and then increased. At different elevations, the carbon density of spruce forest ecosystem was 224.51 t·hm-2, with the carbon density of the tree and soil layers accounting for 30.5% and 69.5% of the total carbon density, respectively. The layers showed a decreasing trend as the altitude increased. Protecting forest soil is crucial for maintaining ecological balance, as the forest soil carbon pool represents a considerable proportion of the total carbon density.

Key words: southern slope of Qilian Mountains, Qinghai spruce forest, biomass, carbon density