Assessing China's Forest Ecosystem Carbon Accumulation Using China's Forest Carbon Model (CFCM)

Abstract:

China’s forests have a great potential in mitigating the rate of global climate change. Carbon sequestration capacity in China's forest ecosystems has been estimated using inventory and modeling methods in the past two decades. However, different methods result in varied magnitudes and large uncertainties exist especially in the soil carbon estimation. In this study, a model named China's forest carbon model (CFCM) has been developed based on over 7000 forest field plots data obtained during 2011-2014 to estimate China's forest ecosystem carbon sequestration capacity. The simulated forest biomass and soil carbon densities correspond well with field observations across China. Our calculation shown China's total forest biomass carbon sink decreased from 210 Tg C a^-1 in 2002 to 175 Tg C a^-1 in 2010, and total forest soil C sink fluctuated between -10-32Tg C a^-1 during 2002-2010. Total forest soil C sink is closely correlated with interannual soil temperature change. Combine biomass and soil C sink, China's forest ecosystem C sink is in the range of 180-231 Tg C a^-1, with the maximum value in 2005 and minimum in 2007 during 2001-2010.