Ecosystem Carbon Storage in Alpine Grassland on the Qinghai Plateau

NWIPB OpenIR

	Ecosystem Carbon Storage in Alpine Grassland on the Qinghai Plateau
	Liu, Shuli ; Zhang, Fawei ; Du, Yangong ; Guo, Xiaowei ; Lin, Li ; Li, Yikang ; Li, Qian ; Cao, Guangmin
	2016-08-05
发表期刊	PLOS ONE
摘要	The alpine grassland ecosystem can sequester a large quantity of carbon, yet its significance remains controversial owing to large uncertainties in the relative contributions of climate factors and grazing intensity. In this study we surveyed 115 sites to measure ecosystem carbon storage (both biomass and soil) in alpine grassland over the Qinghai Plateau during the peak growing season in 2011 and 2012. Our results revealed three key findings. (1) Total biomass carbon density ranged from 0.04 for alpine steppe to 2.80 kg C m(-2) for alpine meadow. Median soil organic carbon (SOC) density was estimated to be 16.43 kg Cm-2 in alpine grassland. Total ecosystem carbon density varied across sites and grassland types, from 1.95 to 28.56 kg C m(-2). (2) Based on the median estimate, the total carbon storage of alpine grassland on the Qinghai Plateau was 5.14 Pg, of which 94% (4.85 Pg) was soil organic carbon. (3) Overall, we found that ecosystem carbon density was affected by both climate and grazing, but to different extents. Temperature and precipitation interaction significantly affected AGB carbon density in winter pasture, BGB carbon density in alpine meadow, and SOC density in alpine steppe. On the other hand, grazing intensity affected AGB carbon density in summer pasture, SOC density in alpine meadow and ecosystem carbon density in alpine grassland. Our results indicate that grazing intensity was the primary contributing factor controlling carbon storage at the sites tested and should be the primary consideration when accurately estimating the carbon storage in alpine grassland.
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://210.75.249.4/handle/363003/43092
专题	中国科学院西北高原生物研究所
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Liu, Shuli,Zhang, Fawei,Du, Yangong,et al. Ecosystem Carbon Storage in Alpine Grassland on the Qinghai Plateau[J]. PLOS ONE,2016.
APA	Liu, Shuli.,Zhang, Fawei.,Du, Yangong.,Guo, Xiaowei.,Lin, Li.,...&Cao, Guangmin.(2016).Ecosystem Carbon Storage in Alpine Grassland on the Qinghai Plateau.PLOS ONE.
MLA	Liu, Shuli,et al."Ecosystem Carbon Storage in Alpine Grassland on the Qinghai Plateau".PLOS ONE (2016).