Carbon storage in desertified lands: A case study from North China

Based on the organic and carbonate carbon levels of the top 1 m of soil from desertified soils of Northern People's Republic of China, climatic and vegetative cover zones have been derived for some 334000 km² of desertification-prone lands. Regional accumulations of pedogenic carbonates were ex...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:GeoJournal 2000, Vol.51 (3), p.181-189
Main Authors: Qi, Feng, Guodong, Cheng, Kunihiko, Endo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alternative energy sources
Arid zones
Bgi / Prodig
Biogeography
Biomass
Carbon
Carbon sequestration
Carbonates
Case studies
China
Climate change
Desert soils
Desertification
Ecosystems and biological productivity
Engineering research
Environment
Environmental monitoring
Environmental policy
Forecasts
Geography
Greenhouse effect
Greenhouse gases
Humanities
Land restoration
Organic carbon
Organic soils
Physical geography
Precipitation
Sand soils
Soil erosion
Soil organic carbon
Soils
Steppe soils
Studies
Vegetation
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Summary:Based on the organic and carbonate carbon levels of the top 1 m of soil from desertified soils of Northern People's Republic of China, climatic and vegetative cover zones have been derived for some 334000 km² of desertification-prone lands. Regional accumulations of pedogenic carbonates were examined relative to precipitation, altitude, and temperature. The largest accumulations of pedogenic carbonates were found in Calcic soils in warm, arid areas. Accumulated organic carbon predominated in soils under Betula platyphylla. In the naturally desertified lands of China, for example, the top 1.0-m soil layer contains some 7.84 Pg of organic carbon and 14.9 Pg of carbonate carbon. Total stored carbon, including carbonate carbon, is 1.8-fold more than organic carbon alone. The carbon released through land desertification in China may be an important factor affecting changes in concentrations of greenhouse gases worldwide.
ISSN:0343-2521
1572-9893
DOI:10.1023/A:1017557712431