PHYTOMASS AND CARBON STORAGE IN THE STIPA-TENACISSIMA STEPPES OF THE BAZA BASIN, ANDALUSIA, SPAIN

Above-ground perennial phytomass of Andalusian alfa grass steppes (775 5.6 +/- 1482 kg of dry matter ha(-1) (95% C.I.)) is clearly higher tha n phytomass density measured today in most alfa grass communities of t he Maghreb because of low or inexistant present-day human-induced alte rations and relatively favourable annual precipitation (370 mm) existi ng in these Spanish steppes. Total carbon storage measured in these st eppes (43,372 kg ha(-1)) constitutes a very high mean value linked to the fact that the bulk (43,000 kg ha(-1) or 93%) of the carbon storage in the Spanish steppic areas consists of underground carbon. These va lues allow for precise available estimations concerning carbon storage in these steppelands. (C) 1996 Academic Press Limited