Current forest carbon stocks and carbon sequestration potential in Anhui Province, China

Abstract

Aims This study was conducted to investigate carbon stocks in forest ecosystems of different stand ages in Anhui Province, and to identify the carbon sequestration potential of climax forests controlled by the natural environment conditions. Methods Data were collected based on field investigations and simulations were made with the BIOME4 carbon cycle model. Important findings Currently, the total forest carbon stocks in Anhui Province amounts to 714.5 Tg C: 402.1 Tg C in vegetation and 312.4 Tg C in soil. Generally, both the total and vegetation carbon density exhibit an increasing trend with the natural growth of forest stands. Soil carbon density increases from young to near mature forests, and then gradually decreases thereafter. Young and middle-aged forests account for 75% of the total forest area in Anhui Province, with potentially an additional 125.4 Tg C to be gained after the young and middle-aged forests reach near mature stage. Results of BIOME4 simulations show that potentially an additional 245.7 Tg C, including 153.7 Tg C in vegetation and 92 Tg C in soil, could be gained if the current forests are transformed into climax forest ecosystems in Anhui Province.