Carbon density distribution and carbon storage estimation under different grazing degradation in the typical steppe

摘要

Carbon (C) is a crucial component of living organisms on planet earth, and C cycling is an important symbol of healthy development of the biosphere (Han et al. 1999). Human activity has adversely affected the global C cycle, and contributed to an alteration of climate that will generate discernible feedbacks to all organisms and ecosystems on earth (He et al. 2008). Grasslands are one of the most widely distributed terrestrial ecosystems on the earth and it is estimated that C storage of global grassland ecosystem was 761Gt (lGt=109t), which accounts for about 15.2% C storage in terrestrial ecosystem (Scurlock et al. 2002). A typical steppe consisting of Stipa grandis and Leymus chinensis was the most representative grassland to research the response mechanism of an ecosystem to human disturbance and climate change. It is of great scientific value to do research about C distribution and storage in this area.