Estimating biological carbon storage of five typical forest types in the Daxing'anling Mountains, Heilongjiang, China

As global climate change continues to accelerate,biological carbon storage,which plays an important ecological role in forest ecosystems,have a very significant effect on carbon emissions and carbon sinks and also play an important role in carbon cycle.Forest ecosystems,as a principal component of terrestrial ecosystems,are the world's largest carbon(C)pool and C sink.The amount of C storage in vegetation plays an important role in global C cycle and C balance.Scientifically and effectively measuring biological C storage provides important data needed for understanding the significance of forest biomass in the C cycle as well as for understanding climate change.This study analyzed biological C storage in typical forest types in the Daxing'anling Mountains in Heilongjiang Province,China,using forest inventory data and geographic information system technology.Five typical forest types in the Daxing'anling Mountains were studied using various age groups and different forest components(trees,shrubs,herbs and litter),specifically Larix gmelinii,Betula platyphylla,Pinus sylvestris var.mongolica,Quercus mongolica,and Populus davidiana forests.For each forest type,tree,understory shrub,herb,and litter layers were surveyed to determine and measure biomass per unit area,C biomass,and C forest stocks.At the stand level,age groups were classified so that estimates of forest biomass and forest C stocks in the study area could be calculated.The biomasses in different age groups of the five typical forest types in the Daxing'anling Mountains including young forest,middle-aged forest,near mature forest,and mature forest were analyzed:.Biomass per unit area of Larix gmelinii forests for these four age groups was 31.00t/hm2,101.29t/hm2,188.46t/hm2,and 215.23t/hm2,respectively.Similarly,the same four age groups of Betula platyphyllaforests held 33.13t/hm2,65.64t/hm2,88.67t/hm2,and 136.38t/hm2 of biomass per unit area; the four age groups of Pinus sylvestris var.mongolicaforests had 61.22t/hm2,120.30t/hm2,179.10t/hm2,and 229.43t/hm2 of biomass per unit area; the four age groups of Quercus mongolicaforests had 23.89t/hm2,25.00t/hm2,70.70t/hm2,and 126.20t/hm2 of biomass per unit area; and,the four age groups of Populus davidianaforests had 47.28t/hm2,61.71t/hm2,91.16t/hm2,and 135.53t/hm2 of biomass per unit area,respectively.Our study determined that biological C storage of the five typical forest types in different age groups varied widely in the Daxing'anling Mountains.C stor