title: Carbon stock and its responses to climate change in Central Asia.
abstract: Central Asia has a land area of 5.6 × 10(6) km(2) and contains 80-90% of the world's temperate deserts. Yet it is one of the least characterized areas in the estimation of the global carbon (C) stock/balance. This study assessed the sizes and spatiotemporal patterns of C pools in Central Asia using both inventory (based on 353 biomass and 284 soil samples) and process-based modeling approaches. The results showed that the C stock in Central Asia was 31.34-34.16 Pg in the top 1-m soil with another 10.42-11.43 Pg stored in deep soil (1-3 m) of the temperate deserts. They amounted to 18-24% of the global C stock in deserts and dry shrublands. The C stock was comparable to that of the neighboring regions in Eurasia or major drylands around the world (e.g. Australia). However, 90% of Central Asia C pool was stored in soil, and the fraction was much higher than in other regions. Compared to hot deserts of the world, the temperate deserts in Central Asia had relatively high soil organic carbon density. The C stock in Central Asia is under threat from dramatic climate change. During a decadal drought between 1998 and 2008, which was possibly related to protracted La Niña episodes, the dryland lost approximately 0.46 Pg C from 1979 to 2011. The largest C losses were found in northern Kazakhstan, where annual precipitation declined at a rate of 90 mm decade(-1) . The regional C dynamics were mainly determined by changes in the vegetation C pool, and the SOC pool was stable due to the balance between reduced plant-derived C influx and inhibited respiration.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang, 830011, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China; CAS Research Center for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia, Urumqi, Xinjiang, 830011, China.
authors.forename: Chaofan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Chi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Geping
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Bagila
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Maisupova
authors.forename: Abdullo A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Madaminov
authors.forename: Qifei
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Bekmamat M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Djenbaev
mesh_terms: D001209:Asia, Central; D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis*; D057486:Carbon Cycle / Q000502:physiology*; D057231:Climate Change; D003889:Desert Climate; D017753:Ecosystem; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D002244:Carbon
keywords: Central Asia; arid ecosystem model; carbon stock; climate change; dryland; temperate desert