Carbon Pools And Belowground Carbon Balance Of Mid-subtropical Evergreen Broad-leaved Forest

Forests are important and its ecological functions are significance of mitigating theglobal environment changes. This study has focused on the Altingia gralilipes nativeforest and Schima superba plantation, which are the constructive species of evergreenbroad-leaved forest in mid-subtropics in south China. The size of carbon pools andcontributions of different C pools to total C stores were estimated for Altingia gralilipesnative forest and Schima superba plantation ecosystems by combining the empirical modelsand forest inventories methods. Meanwhile, forest litter input and soil respiration weremeasured by long-term observations in field so as to determine the belowground Cbalance of Altingia gralilipes native forest and Schima superba plantation. Total C stores inAltingia gralilipes native forest ecosystem were about 56139 g C m^-2. Live biomassformed the majority of this store, comprising 75% of the total. Mineral soil organic matterwas the second largest C pool, and it comprised about 23% of the ecosystem store. While,total stores of C in Schima superba plantation were about 17769 g C m^-2. Mineral soil organicmatter was the largest C pool, with 62% of that comprised of the total. Live biomass wasthe second largest pool, comprising 37%. Input rates of litter in Altingia gralilipes nativeforest and Schima superba plantation were about 349 and 214 g C m^-2 yr^-1. Annual total soilrespiration in Altingia gralilipes native forest and Schima superba plantation were about 1614and 1077 g C m^-2 yr^-1, in which the litter respiration contributed about 20% and 14%. Itestimated that the total belowground C allocation in Altingia gralilipes native forest washigher than Schiraa superba plantation, which were 1268 and 863 g C m^-2 yr^-1. Annually, the litter is a small C sink of atmosphere CO₂, which sequestrated about 24 and 63 g C m^-2yr^-1 in Altingia gralilipes native forest and Schirna superba plantation. This study can provideavailable data for understanding the carbon balance and developing regional ecologicalprocess models of evergreen broad-leaved forest in mid-subtropics. It can also providescientific reference for protecting native forests and mitigating regional climate change.