Soils at Rubber Plantations in Xishuangbanna Act As a Carbon Sink
Jun 23, 2014 Email"> PrintText Size
Many studies have made great contributions to establishing a more accurate calculation method for soil organic carbon storage. Usually, soil organic carbon storage is calculated by multiplying the soil organic carbon content, soil bulk density and soil thickness. However, the method lacks a simple but indispensable parameter, the standard reference depth (DSR).
To improve the accuracy of soil organic carbon storage calculations and their comparability for land use changes, researchers from Xishuangbanna Tropical Rainforest Ecosystem Station of Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) added a new concept (standardized reference depth, DSR) in order to modify the existing calculation method.
The study focused on changes in soil organic carbon storage during primary land use changes in the northern tropical ecosystem (primary rain forest, fallow land, natural secondary forest and monoculture rubber plantation). The study was conducted in the Xishuangbanna National Tropical Rain Forest Reserve (21° 09′ - 22° 33′ N, 99° 58′ - 101° 34′ E) in southwestern China, at the northern edge of tropical SE Asia. The main objective was to quantify the changes in soil organic carbon storage using a modified calculation method by including the standardized reference depth (DSR) in the calculation for the conversion of primary rain forest to other land uses under heavy human activity in Xishuangbanna.
They discovered that the DSR could effectively reduce the calculation error rate by approximately 6.3% from the existing method. The modified process used the standardization of the reference depth, and was necessary in country or global soil carbon storage evolutions and comparisons. They also obtained the unexpected result that rubber plantations had similar soil carbon sequestration abilities to natural secondary forests in Xishuangbanna. Soils at rubber plantations in Xishuangbanna acted as a carbon sink.
The study entitled “Estimating changes in soil organic carbon storage due to land use changes using a modified calculation method” has been published online in iForest – Biogeosciences and Forestry.
Many studies have made great contributions to establishing a more accurate calculation method for soil organic carbon storage. Usually, soil organic carbon storage is calculated by multiplying the soil organic carbon content, soil bulk density and soil thickness. However, the method lacks a simple but indispensable parameter, the standard reference depth (DSR).
To improve the accuracy of soil organic carbon storage calculations and their comparability for land use changes, researchers from Xishuangbanna Tropical Rainforest Ecosystem Station of Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) added a new concept (standardized reference depth, DSR) in order to modify the existing calculation method.
The study focused on changes in soil organic carbon storage during primary land use changes in the northern tropical ecosystem (primary rain forest, fallow land, natural secondary forest and monoculture rubber plantation). The study was conducted in the Xishuangbanna National Tropical Rain Forest Reserve (21° 09′ - 22° 33′ N, 99° 58′ - 101° 34′ E) in southwestern China, at the northern edge of tropical SE Asia. The main objective was to quantify the changes in soil organic carbon storage using a modified calculation method by including the standardized reference depth (DSR) in the calculation for the conversion of primary rain forest to other land uses under heavy human activity in Xishuangbanna.
They discovered that the DSR could effectively reduce the calculation error rate by approximately 6.3% from the existing method. The modified process used the standardization of the reference depth, and was necessary in country or global soil carbon storage evolutions and comparisons. They also obtained the unexpected result that rubber plantations had similar soil carbon sequestration abilities to natural secondary forests in Xishuangbanna. Soils at rubber plantations in Xishuangbanna acted as a carbon sink.
The study entitled “Estimating changes in soil organic carbon storage due to land use changes using a modified calculation method” has been published online in iForest – Biogeosciences and Forestry.
CAS Institutes
There are 124 Institutions directly under the CAS by the end of 2012, with 104 research institutes, five universities & supporting organizations, 12 management organizations that consist of the headquarters and branches, and three other units. Moreover, there are 25 legal entities affiliated and 22 CAS invested holding enterprisesThere are 124 I...>> more
Contact Us
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Add: 52 Sanlihe Rd., Xicheng District, Beijing, China
Postcode: 100864
Tel: 86-10-68597592 (day) 86-10-68597289 (night)
Fax: 86-10-68511095 (day) 86-10-68512458 (night)
E-mail: cas_en@cas.cn