title: Estimates of forest biomass carbon storage inLiaoning Province of Northeast China: a review and assessment.
abstract: Accurate estimates of forest carbon storage and changes in storage capacity are critical for scientific assessment of the effects of forest management on the role of forests as carbon sinks. Up to now, several studies reported forest biomass carbon (FBC) in Liaoning Province based on data from China's Continuous Forest Inventory, however, their accuracy were still not known. This study compared estimates of FBC in Liaoning Province derived from different methods. We found substantial variation in estimates of FBC storage for young and middle-age forests. For provincial forests with high proportions in these age classes, the continuous biomass expansion factor method (CBM) by forest type with age class is more accurate and therefore more appropriate for estimating forest biomass. Based on the above approach designed for this study, forests in Liaoning Province were found to be a carbon sink, with carbon stocks increasing from 63.0 TgC in 1980 to 120.9 TgC in 2010, reflecting an annual increase of 1.9 TgC. The average carbon density of forest biomass in the province has increased from 26.2 Mg ha(-1) in 1980 to 31.0 Mg ha(-1) in 2010. While the largest FBC occurred in middle-age forests, the average carbon density decreased in this age class during these three decades. The increase in forest carbon density resulted primarily from the increased area and carbon storage of mature forests. The relatively long age interval in each age class for slow-growing forest types increased the uncertainty of FBC estimates by CBM-forest type with age class, and further studies should devote more attention to the time span of age classes in establishing biomass expansion factors for use in CBM calculations.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Forest and Soil Ecology, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Dapao
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Forest and Soil Ecology, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Forestry, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: You
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forestry Investigation and Planning, Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Jinyu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Forest and Soil Ecology, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Bernard J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.affiliation: Agricultural Technology Promotion Center of Qianshan District, Anshan, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Forest and Soil Ecology, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Forest and Soil Ecology, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Wangming
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Forest and Soil Ecology, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Forest and Soil Ecology, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Limin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dai
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D018533:Biomass; D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis*; D002681:China; D065928:Forests
chemical_list: D002244:Carbon