Abstract
The alpine tundra on Changbai Mountain was formed as a left-over ‘island’ in higher elevations after the glacier retrieved from the mid-latitude of Northern Hemisphere to the Arctic during the fourth ice age. The alpine tundra on Changbai Mountain also represents the best-reserved tundra ecosystems and the highest biodiversity in northeast Eurasia. This paper examines the quantity of carbon assimilation, litters, respiration rate of soil, and storage of organic carbon within the alpine tundra ecosystems on Changbai Mountain. The annual net storage of organic carbon was 2092 t/a, the total storage of organic carbon was 33457 t, the annual net storage of organic carbon in soil was 1054 t/a, the total organic carbon storage was 316203 t, and the annual respiration rate of soil was 92.9% and was 0.52 times more than that of the Arctic. The tundra-soil ecosystems in alpine Changbai Mountain had 456081 t of carbon storage, of which, organic carbon accounted for 76.7% whereas the mineral carbon accounted for 23.3%.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Kong Xiaofang, Fang Jingyun, Step into the Arctic (in Chinese) Beijing: Chinese Business Press, 1996, 217–228.
Zhang Yahui, Li Changsheng, Gao Zhenming, Element Cycling of Composite Ecosystem (in Chinese) Beijing: China Environmental Science Press, 1996, 30–59.
Fang Jingyun, Wei Menghua, The relation between carbon cycling of the Arctic and global changes, Journal of Environmental Science (in Chinese), 1998, 18(2): 113–121.
Barriola, J. M., Vostok ice: A 160000-year record of atmospheric CO2, Nature, 1987, 329: 408–414.
Chappellaz, J., Barnolz, J. M., Raynaud, D. et al., Ice-core record of atmospheric methane over the past 160000 years, Nature, 1990, 345: 127–131.
Boden, G., Broecker, W., Johnsen, S. et al., Correlations between climate records for North Atlantic sediments and Greenland ice, Nature, 1993, 365: 143–147.
Frisdli, H., Lotscher, H., Oeschger, H. et al., Ice core record of the 13C/12C ratio of atmospheric CO2 in the past two centuries, Nature, 1986, 324: 237–238.
Raynaud, D., Jouzel, J., Barnola, M. et al., The ice record of greenhouse gases, Science, 1993, 259: 926–934.
Huang Xichou, The landscape analysis of the alpine tundra of Changbai mountain, Journal of Geography (in Chinese), 1984, 39(3): 285–297.
An Shuqing, Ecological Dictionary, Harbin: Northeast Forestry University Press, 1994, 61.
Qian Hong, The vegetation of the alpine tundra of Changbai mountain, in Forest Ecosystem Research, Vol. 6 (in Chinese) Beijing: China Forestry Publishing House, 1992, 72–95.
Zhou Yiliang, The characteristics and distribution of main vegetation in the east mountainous area of northeast China, Journal of Botanical Plant Ecology and Botany (in Chinese), 1964, 2(2): 190–206.
Zhao Dachang, The altitude zonation of Changbai mountain, in Forest Ecosystem Research Vol. 1 (in Chinese), Beijing: China Forestry Publishing House, 1980, 65–70.
Qian Hong, Ecological dominance of alpine tundra vegetation of Changbai Mountain, Magazine of Ecology (in Chinese), 1990, 9(2): 24–27, 58.
Shao, G., Zhao, G., Zhao, S. et al., Forest cover types derived from Landsat TM imagery for Changbai Mountain Area of China, Can. J. For. Res. 1996, 26: 206–216.
Greenland Ice-Core Project (GRIP) Members, Climate instability during the last interglacial period recorded in the GRIP ice core, Nature, 1993, 364: 203–207.
Oechel, W. C., Billings, W. D., Arctic ecosystems in a changing climate, in Effects of Global Change on the Carbon Balance of Arctic Plants and Ecosystems (ed. Billings, W. D.), New York: Academic Press, 1992, 139–167.
Chappellaz, J., Blunier, T., Raynaud, D. et al., Synchronous changes in atmospheric H4 and Greenland climate between 40 and 8 kyr BP, Nature, 1993, 366: 443–445.
Taylor, K. C., Hammer, C. U., Alley, R. B. et al., Electrical conductivity measurements form the GLSP2 and GRIP Greenland ice cores, Nature, 1993, 366: 549–552.
Pearman, G. I., Fraser, P. J., Sources of increased methane, Nature, 1988, 332: 489–490.
Adams, J. M., Faure, H., Faure-Dcglade, J. M. et al., Increases in terrestrial carbon storage from the Last Glacial Maximum to the present, Nature, 1990, 348: 711–714.
Oechel, W. C., Vourlitis, G. L., The effects of climate change on land-atmosphere feedbacks in Arctic Tundra regions, Trends Ecol Evolution, 1995(a), 9: 324–329.
Oechel, W. C., Vourlitis, G. L., Hastings, S. J. et al., Change in arctic CO2 flux over two decades: Effects of climate change atbarrow, Alaska. Ecol. Appl., 1995, (b), 5(3): 846–855.
Raich, J. W., Schlesinger, W. H., The global carbon dioxide flux in soil respiration and its relationship to vegetation and climate, Tellus, 1992, 44B: 81–99.
Etheridge, D. M., Pearman, G. L., Atmospheric trace-gas variations as revered by air trapped in an ice core from Law Dome, Antarctica, annal glaciology, 1988, 10: 28–33.
Tans, P. P., Fung, I. Y., Observational on the global atmospheric CO2 budge, Nature, 1990, 24: 1431–1438.
Hao, Z. Q., Wu, G., Deng, H. B. et al., Community characteristics of dark coniferous forest on north slope of Changbai Mountain, Acta Ecologica Sinica, 2000, 20(6): 916–921.
Vaisanen, H., Strandman, H., Kellomaki, S., A model for simulating the effects of change climate on the functioning and structure of the boreal forest ecosystem: An approach based on object-oriented design, Tree Physiology, 1994, 14: 1081- 1095.
Shao, G., Schall, P., Weishampel, J. F., Dynamic simulations of mixed broadleaved-Pinus koraiensis forests in the Changbaishan Biosphere Reserve of China, Forest Ecology and Management, 1994, 70: 169–181.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dai, L., Wu, G., Zhao, J. et al. Carbon cycling of alpine tundra ecosystems on Changbai Mountain and its comparison with arctic tundra. Sci. China Ser. D-Earth Sci. 45, 903–910 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1360/02yd9089
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1360/02yd9089