广西不同林龄杉木、马尾松人工林根系生物量及碳储量特征

为了解不同林龄杉木、马尾松人工林地地下根系生物量及碳储量特征,以广西杉木、马尾松主产区5个不同林龄阶段(幼龄林、中龄林、近熟林、成熟林、过熟林)的人工林为研究对象,采用全根挖掘法和土钻法获取标准木根系生物量、灌草根系生物量和林分细根生物量,并测定其碳含量,分析其不同林龄阶段地下根系生物量和碳储量分配特征。结果表明:杉木、马尾松林地下根系总生物量分别在9.06—31.40Mg/hm~2和7.91—53.40Mg/hm~2之间,各林龄阶段根系总生物量总体上呈现随林龄增加而增加的趋势,杉木林细根生物量随林龄的增加呈现出先减后增的趋势,马尾松呈现出逐渐减小的趋势;林分各层次根系碳含量表现为乔木灌木草本、细根;杉木、马尾松地下根系碳储量变化趋势与生物量变化趋势相同,杉木、马尾松林不同林龄阶段各层次根系和土壤细根总碳储量分别在7.56—21.97Mg/hm~2和8.86—29.95Mg/hm~2之间;地下根系碳储量总体上以乔木根系占优势,且随林龄的增大其比例呈增加的趋势。     

不同林龄麻栎林地下部分生物量与碳储量研究

探讨不同林龄麻栎林地下部分根系的生物量与碳储量,为麻栎林的经营管理及碳汇管理等提供科学依据。以江苏省句容市不同林龄(幼龄林、中龄林、近熟林、成熟林)的麻栎林为研究对象,采用全根挖掘法获取麻栎各级根系及灌草层根系,并测定其生物量、碳含量,构建麻栎根系生物量模型,估算麻栎林地下部分根系碳储量及麻栎林群落碳储量。通过11种数学回归模型的比较,构建麻栎各级根系生物量幂回归模型,计算得到幼龄林、中龄林、近熟林、成熟林麻栎根系生物量分别为14.81t/hm~2、41.15t/hm~2、50.36t/hm~2、53.75t/hm~2,各级根系生物量大小顺序是:根桩粗根大根细根;灌木与草本植物根系生物量分别为0.48—1.71t/hm~2、0.13—0.60t/hm~2;不同林龄麻栎林群落根系生物量为15.42—56.06t/hm~2,且随林龄的增大而增大。麻栎根系碳含量大小顺序为:根桩粗根大根细根,且碳含量差异显著;灌木与草本植物根系碳含量分别为41.84%—43.79%、34.03%—38.48%,随林龄变化均无明显变化规律。麻栎林乔木根系碳储量随林龄增大而增大,幼龄林、中龄林、近熟林、成熟林根系碳储量分别为6.01t/hm~2、17.41t/hm~2、21.79t/hm~2、21.99t/hm~2;灌木与草本植物根系碳储量均随林龄增大而增大;幼龄林、中龄林、近熟林、成熟林群落根系碳储量分别为6.26t/hm~2、17.74t/hm~2、22.37t/hm~2、22.94t/hm~2,且乔木层灌木层草本层。麻栎林地下部分根系生物量与碳储量随林龄的增大而增大,幼龄林到近熟林生长过程中生物量与碳储量增加快速,近熟林后生物量与碳素积累缓慢,且与成熟林接近。     

格氏栲和杉木人工林地下碳分配

通过对福建三明36年生的格氏栲人工林和杉木人工林林木地下C分配(TBCA)进行研究,结果表明,由分室累加法直接测定的格氏栲和杉木人工林的TBCA分别为8.426和4.040 t C.hm-2.-a 1。在格氏栲和杉木人工林TBCA组成中,根系净生产量和根系呼吸各约占50%;在根系年净生产量中,细根年净生产量和粗根年净生产量各约占75%和25%。而格氏栲和杉木人工林的细根年C归还量则均约占各自TBCA的1/3(分别为33%和36%)。在假设地下C库处于稳定状态时,由C平衡法计算的格氏栲和杉木人工林的TBCA(分别为6.039t C.hm-2.-a 1和2.987 t C.hm-2.-a 1)低于分室累加法,这与两种人工林地下C库尚未达到稳定状态有关。利用R a ich and N ade lhoffer全球模式方程推算的格氏栲和杉木人工林的TBCA(分别为9.771t C.hm-2.a-1和5.344 t C.hm-2.-a 1)则高于分室累加法,这与全球模式方程只是一种全球尺度规律有关。     

湖南省杉木人工林生态系统碳储量分配格局及固碳潜力

人工林生态系统碳储量的空间分配格局对全球陆地碳循环有重要的影响,但湖南省杉木人工林生态系统碳储量的分配格局并不清楚。本研究在湖南省样地野外调查的基础上,结合第八次全国森林资源清查的结果,计算出湖南省杉木人工林生态系统的碳储量空间分布格局。结果表明:杉木人工林生态系统碳密度随着林龄增加而增加,幼龄林、中龄林和成熟林分别为125.70、138.57、193.72 Mg·hm~(-2);其中,幼龄林、中龄林和成熟林的植被生物量碳密度分别为18.72、38.86、62.48 Mg·hm~(-2);土壤碳密度随着林分发育先降低后增加,幼龄林为105.49 Mg·hm~(-2)、中龄林为97.23 Mg·hm~(-2)、成熟林126.7 Mg·hm~(-2);湖南省杉木人工林生态系统碳储量为307.48 Tg,其中幼龄林为90.57 Tg,中龄林为91.87 Tg,成熟林为125.31 Tg;湖南省杉木人工林生态系统的固碳潜力为85.56 Tg,其中,植被固碳潜力为47.19 Tg,土壤的固碳潜力为34.82 Tg。确定杉木人工林固碳潜力有助于量化人工林对碳汇的贡献及其制定实现潜力的森林经营管理措施。     

辽河源不同龄组油松天然次生林生物量及空间分配特征

油松是中国暖温带区域主要的森林植被,精确计算油松天然林生物量及准确表征空间分布特征对其在固碳释氧、林木积累营养物质等方面的生态服务功能评估具有重要意义。目前,国内基本上没有进行油松天然次生林生物量及空间分配在一个年龄序列上的研究。研究的主要目的是准确估算河北省平泉县辽河源自然保护区4个龄组油松天然次生林林分各组分的生物量,并揭示生物量在空间的分配特征。在每种林分内,林下植被层(灌木和草本)和凋落物层生物量通过样地调查和全挖取样的方法计算。基于胸径(DBH)和树高(H)的异速生长方程则用于计算乔木层生物量。结果表明:(1)林分生物量大小排序为:成熟林(397.793 t/hm2)近熟林(242.188 t/hm2)中龄林(203.801 t/hm2)幼龄林(132.894 t/hm2);(2)乔木层生物量成熟林(373.128 t/hm2)近熟林(224.991 t/hm2)中龄林(187.750 t/hm2)幼龄林(119.169 t/hm2)。地上部分各组分生物量大小关系略有差异,幼龄林和近熟林为:干根枝叶干皮球果,而中龄林和成熟林则是干根枝干皮叶球果。干生物量对于各龄组乔木层生物量来说是最大的贡献者,所占比例表现为:中龄林(66.25%)近熟林(64.38%)成熟林(62.09%)幼龄林(38.41%),而贡献较小的球果则是成熟林(1.02%)幼龄林(0.88%)近熟林(0.72%)中龄林(0.53%)。根系总生物量在18.315 t/hm2(中龄林)—44.849 t/hm2(成熟林)之间,其组分生物量大小整体上表现为:根桩粗根大根细根小细根;(3)灌木层生物量成熟林(0.861 t/hm2)近熟林(0.790 t/hm2)中龄林(0.559 t/hm2)幼龄林(0.401 t/hm2),各组分生物量大小为根茎叶;(4)草本层生物量幼龄林(3.058 t/hm2)近熟林(2.017 t/hm2)中龄林(1.220 t/hm2)成熟林(1.181 t/hm2),地下部分生物量均大于地上部分;(5)凋落物层生物量成熟林(22.623 t/hm2)近熟林(14.390 t/hm2)中龄林(14.272 t/hm2)幼龄林(10.265 t/hm2),各层生物量大小为:未分解层半分解层全分解层。(6)在各层次生物量的比较中,4个龄组均表现为乔木层凋落物层草本层灌木层。其中,幼龄林乔木层生物量占89.67%、中龄林占92.13%、近熟林占92.90%,成熟林占93.80%。     

不同林龄杉木人工林碳储量及其分配格局

基于广西北部杉木主产区45块1000 m²样地的调查,研究幼龄林、中龄林、近熟林、成熟林、过熟林5种林龄杉木植被与土壤碳储量的分配格局.结果表明: 杉木人工林生态系统总碳储量表现为过熟林(345.59 t·hm^-2)>成熟林(331.14 t·hm^-2)>近熟林(299.11 t·hm^-2)>幼龄林(187.60 t·hm^-2)>中龄林(182.81 t·hm^-2).不同林龄碳储量分布格局均为土壤层>植被层>凋落物层,地下部分>地上部分.其中,植被层为34.80～134.55 t·hm^-2,占总碳储量的18.6%～38.9%,随林龄的增加而增加;凋落物层为1.26～2.07 t·hm^-2,占总碳储量的0.4%～1.1%;土壤层为149.24～206.02 t·hm^-2,占总碳储量的61.9%～80.0%.植被层碳储量以乔木层(33.51～133.7 t·hm^-2)最大,占92.8%～98.9%.其中,乔木层各器官碳储量以树干(20.98～95.68 t·hm^-2)最大,占乔木层碳储量的62.6%～72.6%,随林龄的增加而增加;枝、叶碳储量分别占4.8%～11.0%和11.1%～14.2%,随林龄的增加而减小,在过熟林阶段有所上升;根的碳储量占11.3%～12.3%,波动较小,比较稳定.     

三峡库区马尾松人工林凋落物和根系输入对土壤理化性质的影响

从凋落物和根系生物量角度对三峡库区不同年龄马尾松人工林土壤理化性质进行测定.结果表明:马尾松成熟林凋落物的年产量分别比近熟林、中龄林高19.4％和65.7％,凋落物现存量大小为成熟林＞中龄林＞近熟林,周转系数为近熟林(0.51)＞成熟林(0.40)＞中龄林(0.36);根系总生物量、活根及死根生物量均为中龄林最高、近熟林最低;中龄林土壤总孔隙度最大,容重最小;土壤有机质和总氮含量均是成熟林＞中龄林＞近熟林;近熟林土壤中硝态氮含量比重较大,中龄林和成熟林铵态氮含量比重较大.近熟林凋落物产量适中、周转系数最大,土壤养分最低;中龄林根系生物量和总孔隙度最大,土壤容重最小;成熟林土壤养分含量最高,根系生物量较低.根系生物量增加可以改善土壤的物理性质.     

广西不同林龄喀斯特森林生态系统碳储量及其分配格局

基于广西喀斯特地区45块1000 m²样地的调查,研究幼龄林、中龄林、近熟林、成熟林、过熟林5个林龄阶段喀斯特森林植被与土壤碳储量的分配格局.结果表明: 广西不同林龄喀斯特森林总碳储量表现为幼龄林(86.03 t·hm^-2)＜近熟林(110.63 t·hm^-2)＜中龄林(112.11 t·hm^-2)＜成熟林(149.1 t·hm^-2)＜过熟林(244.38 t·hm^-2);各林龄阶段植被不同层碳储量分配均不同,乔木层所占比例占绝对优势,达到92.3%～98.7%,随林龄的增加而增长,灌木层、草本层、凋落物层所占比例分别为0.3%～1.9%、0.3%～1.2%和0.3%～2.5%,细根所占比例为0.3%～3.3%.土壤有机碳密度随土层深度的增加而递减,土壤层碳储量为51.75～81.21 t·hm^-2,所占生态系统比例为33.2%～66.2%,其随林龄的增大呈减小趋势.生态系统地上、地下部分碳储量分别为22.80～141.72和62.30～102.66 t·hm^-2,除过熟林外均为地下部分＞地上部分,地上碳储量随林龄的增大呈逐渐增加的趋势,地下碳储量的变化规律与土壤碳储量变化趋势一致.土壤层和乔木层为生态系统的主要碳库,二者所占比例达到了96%以上.     

中国南方3种主要人工林生物量和生产力的动态变化

基于中国南方杉木、马尾松、桉树3种主要人工林的幼龄林、中龄林、近熟林、成熟林、过熟林5个不同年龄各3块1000 m2样地(共计45块)的建立和调查,采用样木回归分析法(乔木层)和样方收获法(灌木层、草本层、地上凋落物)获取不同林型不同林龄径级样木和其它基本数据,探讨了3种人工林各组分各层次林分生物量和生产力的分配特征及随林龄的变化规律,结果表明,林分生物量和生产力与林龄密切相关,增长模型的拟合度均较高,相关显著;杉木、马尾松、桉树人工林的生物量随林龄的增长呈增加趋势,成熟林的生物量分别为192.30、191.53、105.77 Mg/hm2,其中活体植物分别占95.76%—98.39%、75.01%—99.14%、85.60%—97.61%;生物量的层次分配乔木层占绝对优势,并随年龄而增加,其它层次所占比例较小,总体趋势为凋落物草本层灌木层;乔木层的器官分配以干所占比例最高,杉木、马尾松、桉树分别占54.89%—75.97%、49.93%—83.10%、51.07%—98.48%,随年龄的增加而增加,根的比例次之,枝叶所占比例较小,随林龄而下降;灌木层器官分配以枝的相对生物量较大,草本层的地上和地下分配规律不明显;与其它森林类型相比,杉木和马尾松的生物量处于中上游水平,桉树的生物量较低,但3种人工林的生产力均很高,分别为12.37、8.98、21.10 Mg hm-2a-1,均是光合效率高、固碳潜力大的中国南方速生丰产优良造林树种。     

黄土区不同林龄刺槐人工林细根的衰老生理特征

以黄土高原刺槐人工林为研究对象,采用手工挖掘法,配合完整土块法获取根系样品,分析幼龄(11a),中龄(22a),成熟(34a)刺槐人工林细根活力、可溶性糖含量、可溶性蛋白含量和细胞膜透性等细根衰老生理指标的差异,为深入了解刺槐细根的生长和衰老机制提供参考。结果表明:(1)在生长季节,刺槐细根活力表现为,幼龄林成熟林中龄林,可溶性糖含量、可溶性蛋白含量随着林龄增大而增加,而细胞膜透性则随林龄的增加而减小。(2)随着根序增加,根活力和可溶性糖含量增加,而可溶性蛋白含量和细胞膜透性则呈波动式降低。这表明,在生长季节幼龄林细根较中龄林和成熟林更容易出现衰老,刺槐不同根序衰老具有顺序性,衰老先从1级根开始,然后是2级根和3级根。     

Soil Respiration and Belowground Carbon Allocation in Mangrove Forests

Mangrove forests cover large areas of tropical and subtropical coastlines. They provide a wide range of ecosystem services that includes carbon storage in above- and below ground biomass and in soils. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from soil, or soil respiration is important in the global carbon budget and is sensitive to increasing global temperature. To understand the magnitude of mangrove soil respiration and the influence of forest structure and temperature on the variation in mangrove soil respiration I assessed soil respiration at eleven mangrove sites, ranging from latitude 27°N to 37°S. Mangrove soil respiration was similar to those observed for terrestrial forest soils. Soil respiration was correlated with leaf area index (LAI) and aboveground net primary production (litterfall), which should aid scaling up to regional and global estimates of soil respiration. Using a carbon balance model, total belowground carbon allocation (TBCA) per unit litterfall was similar in tall mangrove forests as observed in terrestrial forests, but in scrub mangrove forests TBCA per unit litter fall was greater than in terrestrial forests, suggesting mangroves allocate a large proportion of their fixed carbon below ground under unfavorable environmental conditions. The response of soil respiration to soil temperature was not a linear function of temperature. At temperatures below 26°C Q10 of mangrove soil respiration was 2.6, similar to that reported for terrestrial forest soils. However in scrub forests soil respiration declined with increasing soil temperature, largely because of reduced canopy cover and enhanced activity of photosynthetic benthic microbial communities.     

Aboveground Tree Growth Varies with Belowground Carbon Allocation in a Tropical Rainforest Environment

Young secondary forests and plantations in the moist tropics often have rapid rates of biomass accumulation and thus sequester large amounts of carbon. Here, we compare results from mature forest and nearby 15–20 year old tree plantations in lowland Costa Rica to evaluate differences in allocation of carbon to aboveground production and root systems. We found that the tree plantations, which had fully developed, closed canopies, allocated more carbon belowground - to their root systems - than did mature forest. This increase in belowground carbon allocation correlated significantly with aboveground tree growth but not with canopy production (i.e., leaf fall or fine litter production). In contrast, there were no correlations between canopy production and either tree growth or belowground carbon allocation. Enhanced allocation of carbon to root systems can enhance plant nutrient uptake, providing nutrients beyond those required for the production of short-lived tissues such as leaves and fine roots, and thus enabling biomass accumulation. Our analyses support this deduction at our site, showing that enhanced allocation of carbon to root systems can be an important mechanism promoting biomass accumulation during forest growth in the moist tropics. Identifying factors that control when, where and for how long this occurs would help us to improve models of forest growth and nutrient cycling, and to ascertain the role that young forests play in mitigating increased atmospheric carbon dioxide.     

Relationships between carbon allocation and partitioning of soil respiration across world mature forests

Partitioning of soil CO₂ flux (FS) into autotrophic and heterotrophic components depends on how the plant carbon is allocated above- vs. belowground and how the belowground carbon is allocated for respiration and production of roots and their microbial associations. Data of litterfall (FA), root respiration (FR), and FS of world old-growth or mature forests (≥45 ages) were compiled, and the relationship between carbon allocation above- vs. belowground (indexed as the FA/FS ratio) and FS partitioning (indexed as the FR/FS ratio) was examined. The FA/FS ratio ranged from 0.08 to 0.64 and was positively correlated with mean annual air temperature and mean annual precipitation. The ratio increased from boreal to temperate to tropical forests, and was higher in broadleaved forests than in coniferous forests. Site-specific belowground carbon use efficiency (BCUE, root production per unit carbon used by roots and microbial associations) varied from 0.10 to 0.87, contrasting with the common assumption of a constant BCUE. Site-specific FR/FS ranged from 0.09 to 0.71 and increased with FS due to a decrease in BCUE. Deciduousness had a significant effect on the FR/FS ratios, with FR/FS ratios greater in deciduous forests than in evergreen forests. Methods of separating root respiration from soil heterotrophic respiration had a significant effect on estimated FR/FS. The estimated FR/FS ratio was negatively related to the FA/FS ratio, indicating that factors favouring carbon allocation belowground over aboveground will increase the autotrophic contribution to total soil respiration. The relatively low explaining power (r ² = 0.270) of this relationship resulted from deviations from assumptions of constant BCUE and a near steady-state belowground pools.     

Total Belowground Carbon Allocation in a Fast-growing Eucalyptus Plantation Estimated Using a Carbon Balance Approach

Trees allocate a large portion of gross primary production belowground for the production and maintenance of roots and mycorrhizae. The difficulty of directly measuring total belowground carbon allocation (TBCA) has limited our understanding of belowground carbon (C) cycling and the factors that control this important flux. We measured TBCA over 4 years using a conservation of mass, C balance approach in replicate stands of fast growing Eucalyptus saligna Smith with different nutrition management and tree density treatments. We measured TBCA as surface carbon dioxide (CO₂) efflux (“soil” respiration) minus C inputs from aboveground litter plus the change in C stored in roots, litter, and soil. We evaluated this C balance approach to measuring TBCA by examining (a) the variance in TBCA across replicate plots; (b) cumulative error associated with summing components to arrive at our estimates of TBCA; (c) potential sources of error in the techniques and assumptions; (d) the magnitude of changes in C stored in soil, litter, and roots compared to TBCA; and (e) the sensitivity of our measures of TBCA to differences in nutrient availability, tree density, and forest age. The C balance method gave precise estimates of TBCA and reflected differences in belowground allocation expected with manipulations of fertility and tree density. Across treatments, TBCA averaged 1.88 kg C m⁻² y⁻¹ and was 18% higher in plots planted with 10⁴ trees/ha compared to plots planted with 1111 trees/ha. TBCA was 12% lower (but not significantly so) in fertilized plots. For all treatments, TBCA declined linearly with stand age. The coefficient of variation (CV) for TBCA for replicate plots averaged 17%. Averaged across treatments and years, annual changes in C stored in soil, the litter layer, and coarse roots (−0.01, 0.06, and 0.21 kg C m⁻² y⁻¹, respectively) were small compared with surface CO₂ efflux (2.03 kg C m⁻² y⁻¹), aboveground litterfall (0.42 kg C m⁻² y⁻¹), and our estimated TBCA (1.88 kg C m⁻² y⁻¹). Based on studies from similar sites, estimates of losses of C through leaching, erosion, or storage of C in deep soil were less than 1% of annual TBCA. Received 6 March 2001; accepted 7 January 2002.     

Allocation of carbon in a mature eucalypt forest and some effects of soil phosphorus availability

Pools and annual fluxes of carbon (C) were estimated for a mature Eucalyptus pauciflora (snowgum) forest with and without phosphorus (P) fertilizer addition to determine the effect of soil P availability on allocation of C in the stand. Aboveground biomass was estimated from allometric equations relating stem and branch diameters of individual trees to their biomass. Biomass production was calculated from annual increments in tree diameters and measurements of litterfall. Maintenance and construction respiration were calculated for each component using equations given by Ryan (1991a). Total belowground C flux was estimated from measurements of annual soil CO₂ efflux less the C content of annual litterfall (assuming forest floor and soil C were at approximate steady state for the year that soil CO₂ efflux was measured). The total C content of the standing biomass of the unfertilized stand was 138 t ha^-1, with approximately 80% aboveground and 20% belowground. Forest floor C was 8.5 t ha^-1. Soil C content (0–1 m) was 369 t ha^-1 representing 70% of the total C pool in the ecosystem. Total gross annual C flux aboveground (biomass increment plus litterfall plus respiration) was 11.9 t ha^-1 and gross flux belowground (coarse root increment plus fine root production plus root respiration) was 5.1 t ha^-1. Total annual soil efflux was 7.1 t ha^-1, of which 2.5 t ha^-1 (35%) was contributed by litter decomposition.The short-term effect of changing the availability of P compared with C on allocation to aboveground versus belowground processes was estimated by comparing fertilized and unfertilized stands during the year after treatment. In the P-fertilized stand annual wood biomass increment increased by 30%, there was no evidence of change in canopy biomass, and belowground C allocation decreased by 19% relative to the unfertilized stand. Total annual C flux was 16.97 and 16.75 t ha^-1 yr^-1 and the ratio of below- to aboveground C allocation was 0.43 and 0.35 in the unfertilized and P-fertilized stands, respectively. Therefore, the major response of the forest stand to increased soil P availability appeared to be a shift in C allocation; with little change in total productivity. These results emphasise that both growth rate and allocation need to be estimated to predict changes in fluxes and storage of C in forests that may occur in response to disturbance or climate change.     

施肥对落叶松和水曲柳人工林土壤呼吸的影响

 以落叶松（Larix gmelinii）和水曲柳（Fraxinus mandshurica）人工林为研究对象,采用动态气室法（LI-6400-09叶室连接到LI-6400便携式CO₂/H₂O分析系统）对两种林分的土壤呼吸速率进行了观测,探讨了细根生物量、根中氮含量与土壤呼吸速率的关系,以及施肥对细根生物量、根中氮含量和土壤呼吸速率的影响。结果表明：1）施肥导致落叶松和水曲柳林分的活细根生物量降低18.4％和27.4％, 死细根生物量分别降低了34.8％和127.4 ％;2）施肥使落叶松和水曲柳林地土壤呼吸速率与对照相比分别减少了34.9％和25.8％;3 ）施肥对根中氮含量没有显著影响;4）落叶松和水曲柳林地的土壤呼吸与土壤温度表现出相同的季节变化,两种林分的土壤呼吸速率与地下5和10 cm处的温度表现出明显的指数关系 ,其相关性R²=0.93～0.98。土壤呼吸温度系数Q₁₀的范围在2.45～3.29。 施肥处理对Q₁₀没有产生影响,施肥处理导致细根生物量减少可能是引起林地土壤呼吸速率下降的主要原因。     

甘肃省森林碳储量现状与固碳速率

针对森林碳平衡再评估的重要性和区域尺度森林生态系统碳库量化分配的不确定性, 该研究依据全国森林资源连续清查结果中甘肃省各森林类型分布的面积与蓄积比重以及林龄和起源等要素, 在甘肃省布设212个样地, 经野外调查与采样、室内分析, 并对典型样地信息按照面积权重进行尺度扩展, 估算了甘肃省森林生态系统碳储量及其分布特征。结果表明: 甘肃省森林生态系统总碳储量为612.43 Tg C, 其中植被生物量碳为179.04 Tg C, 土壤碳为433.39 Tg C。天然林是甘肃省碳储量的主要贡献者, 其值为501.42 Tg C, 是人工林的4.52倍。天然林和人工林的植被碳密度均表现为随林龄的增加而增加的趋势, 同一龄组天然林植被碳密度高于人工林。天然林土壤碳密度从幼龄林到过熟林逐渐增加, 但人工林土壤碳密度最大值主要为近熟林。全省森林植被碳密度均值为72.43 Mg C·hm^-2, 天然林和人工林分别为90.52和33.79 Mg C·hm^-2。基于森林清查资料和标准样地实测数据, 估算出全省天然林和人工林在1996年的植被碳储量为132.47和12.81 Tg C, 2011年分别为152.41和26.63 Tg C, 平均固碳速率分别为1.33和0.92 Tg C·a^-1。甘肃省幼、中龄林面积比重较大, 占全省的62.28%, 根据碳密度随林龄的动态变化特征, 预测这些低龄林将发挥巨大的碳汇潜力。