Abstract
Stand structure and topography are important factors affecting forest vegetation carbon density (FVCD). Revealing the interaction mechanisms between stand structure and topography on FVCD is of great significance for enhancing forest vegetation carbon storage and achieving regional carbon neutrality. Based on stratified sampling, systematic distribution and forest continuous inventory sample plots in Jiangxi province, the variation characteristics of FVCD and its correlations with stand structure and topographic factors were studied. The results are as follows: (1) The average FVCD in Jiangxi province was 44.23 Mg/ha, which was dominated by the carbon density of the arbor layer, accounting for about 81.39% of the total forest—far lower than the average level of global FVCD, which proved that the forest in Jiangxi province was dominated by middle-age and young forests with low carbon density, and also showed that the potential for forest vegetation carbon storage in Jiangxi province was huge. (2) Except for vegetation carbon densities of shrub and herb layers, the vegetation carbon densities of other forest layers in Jiangxi province were significantly different among different forest types. Volume per unit area was the most important factor affecting the vegetation carbon densities of arbor and total forest, and vegetation carbon density–volume models of the main forests were built for vegetation carbon density calculation in Jiangxi province. (3) The vegetation carbon densities of arbor layer, snag and log layer, and total forest increased significantly with increases in elevation and slope. Except for the shrub layer and herb layer, the vegetation carbon densities of the other layers and the total forest had extremely significant or significant differences between slope position gradients—indicating that the effect of topography on FVCD in Jiangxi province was significant, mainly through influencing of forest distribution and human disturbance intensity.
Highlights
Forest vegetation carbon storage is the main body of terrestrial ecosystem carbon storage, which maintains a huge carbon pool of (550 ± 100) Pg (1 Pg = 1015 g), and absorbs about 33% of the carbon emitted by human activities, playing a very important role in global carbon balance and potential carbon storage [1,2]
Correlation analysis results showed that except for the fact that the carbon densities of shrub, herb, and litter were not significantly correlated with altitude, the vegetation carbon density of arbor, snags and logs, and total forest layers were all significantly positively correlated with altitude, which indicates that the vegetation carbon density of arbor, snags and logs and total forest layers increased with elevation in Jiangxi province (Table 7)
The forest vegetation carbon density (FVCD) in Jiangxi province is dominated by the arbor layer, accounting for about 81.39% of the total forest, which is consistent with the results of Wang Bin et al [22], but lower than the research results of Chen Danfeng [44], and 89.44% of P. massoniana forest in south Jiangxi province reported by Guo Liling et al [45], and 98.98% of forest in middle Jiangxi province by Li Haifeng et al [27]
Summary
Scholars from Russia, Canada, the United States, China and other countries have studied regional or even global forest vegetation carbon storage and forest carbon cycles [5,6,7,8]. Due to the complexity and diversity of forest types in China, it is difficult to use a unified method for estimation of forest vegetation carbon storage, and the degree of preparation of basic data varies from place to place. The estimated forest vegetation carbon storage varies significantly at the national scale in China, at an average of 3.72–13.34 Pg [9,10,11]. A bottom-up approach is necessary for more accurate estimation of forest vegetation carbon storage—that is, carbon storage of forest ecosystems at different regional scales is estimated first, and carbon storage of forest ecosystems at the national scale is calculated [12]
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