The Soil Organic Carbon Storage and Its Spatial Distribution of Alpine Grassland in the Source Region of the Yellow River
黄河源区高寒草地土壤有机碳储量及分布特征

The alpine grassland in the Tibetan Plateau plays an important role in global carbon cycle and carbon balance. However, regional carbon cycle in the alpine grassland ecosystem is still not clear. In this study we selected Golog prefecture in the headwater of the Yellow River valley as a study area, which is loCated on the southeast of the Tibetan Plateau. Using field-obtained physical and chemical data from more than 50 typical soil profiles, the organic soil carbon storage in the study area is estimated. The results show that soil organic carbon sinks primarily include alpine meadow and alpine steppe soils. The mean soil organic carbon per unit area is 29.97 kg/m2. The total soil organic carbon storage is about 15×108tC. The spatial distribution of soil organic carbon is characterized by its density and storage increase from northwestern to southeastern part of the study area. The very cold environment results in the higher value of soil organic carbon density in the study area.