Distribution of biomass and carbon content in estimation of carbon density for typical forests

Abstract

Accurate measurements of parameters related to carbon stock are crucial for evaluating the potential of regional forest ecosystems to sequester carbon and implement enhanced carbon sequestration. This study analysed the differences in biomass and carbon content (CC) among fourteen forest types and assessed the capacity of forest ecosystems to sequester carbon, using karst typical forest ecosystems in central Guizhou Province as an example. The results showed that: 1) the arbor layer was the dominant component of the forest biomass, accounting for more than 66 % of the total forest biomass; 2) the CC of branches was slightly higher than that of leaves and stems, and the CC of the carbon layer ranged from 37.79 % to 48.90 %, with the arbor layer having the highest average CC; 3) the vegetation CC of each forest type differed significantly from the default value in common research, and the adoption of the fixed values may result in errors in carbon stock estimation; 4) the forest ecosystem had an average carbon density of 187.78 t/hm2, and the forest vegetation maintained a higher level of carbon pooling than the soil. Moreover, the topsoil had a higher carbon density than the deep soil. This study makes important contributions to improving the accuracy of carbon stock estimates and maximizing the potential for carbon stock in karst regions.