title: Carbon sequestration in two alpine soils on the Tibetan Plateau.
abstract: Soil carbon sequestration was estimated in a conifer forest and an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau using a carbon-14 radioactive label provided by thermonuclear weapon tests (known as bomb-(14)C). Soil organic matter was physically separated into light and heavy fractions. The concentration spike of bomb-(14)C occurred at a soil depth of 4 cm in both the forest soil and the alpine meadow soil. Based on the depth of the bomb-(14)C spike, the carbon sequestration rate was determined to be 38.5 g C/m(2) per year for the forest soil and 27.1 g C/m(2) per year for the alpine meadow soil. Considering that more than 60% of soil organic carbon (SOC) is stored in the heavy fraction and the large area of alpine forests and meadows on the Tibetan Plateau, these alpine ecosystems might partially contribute to "the missing carbon sink".
authors.affiliation: College of Resources Science & Technology, State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Qiang
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Xing-Liang
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Ming-Hua
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Cai-Ping
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Qiong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ouyang
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis*; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis*; D018609:Tibet
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D002244:Carbon