Dynamics of soil organic carbon in alpine meadow of Tibetan Plateau with CENTURY model

Abstract

The estimation of soil organic carbon(SOC) densities and dynamics is necessary to understand terrestrial carbon cycle and carbon budget. The relative research on the Tibetan Plateau was few and uncertainty of the SOC densities and dynamics. The dynamics of soil organic carbon and its fractions, including active, slow and passive pools, were simulated using CENTURY model in alpine meadow at Damxung on Tibetan Plateau. Results showed that the SOC density in surface soil (0–20cm) was approximately 3292.20±15.78g/m2 in alpine meadow. The study simulated the change process of soil organic carbon and its components. Active, slow and passive soil organic carbon were respectively stable in 76.07–100.55g/m2, 1913.05–2008.05g/m2, 1312.47–1320.76g/m2 in equilibrium state. Soil organic carbon decreased in the past 30 years and slightly decreased in the future 100 years using CENTURY model. Results of this study indicated that CENTURY model was applied to alpine meadow ecosystem. This suggest that CENTURY model is a uesful tool for alpine meadow ecosystem study. While our study represents a case study, the results suggest that CENTURY model studies in alpine meadow can help to evaluate the dynamics of SOC and the grassland management.