The impact of human disturbance on vegetative carbon storage in forest ecosystems in China

Carbon (C) density (carbon mass per hectare) is a critical variable in dete rmining the extent of the effect of human activity on ecosystems and our en vironment, because many ecological processes depend on the C cycle. Quantif ying the human impact on C density of forest ecosystems is very important f or reducing the uncertainties pertaining to C emission from terrestrial eco systems. Using the volume-derived method, we have estimated the total veget ative C pool and density in the forest ecosystems for every province in Chi na, and then analyzed the relationship between the C density and population density. In China, forest C storage was 3255.71 Tg, of which 59% was locat ed in remote regions including Helongjiang, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Inner Mong olia Provinces. The area-weighed vegetative C density is 32 Mg/ha with a ra nge of 5-75 Mg/ha on a provincial scale. A good negative correlation was fo und between the C densities and population densities at a significant level (carbon density=-9.84. In (population density)+75.13, r(2)=0.64). It can b e concluded that, apart from changes in land use, forest degradation also c auses significant carbon release to the atmosphere, and that existing fores t ecosystems can sequester a considerable amount of carbon if effective man agement systems are applied, (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights rese rved.