| Title | Temporal Changes of Ecosystem Carbon Stocks in Rubber Plantations in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China |
| Author | Sun Yanci |
| Publication | PEDOSPHERE |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Corresponding Author | Ma, YX |
| Abstract | Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) plantations have been expanded rapidly in tropical regions of Southwest China and cover more than 20% of land area in Xishuangbanna Several studies have addressed changes of soil C stocks in rubber plantations; however, estimates of total ecosystem C stocks and their temporal changes in rubber plantations have been inadequately studied. This study calculated C stocks in soil, biomass, litter, and dry rubber (latex), and estimated the total ecosystem C stocks of rubber plantations in an age sequence of 3-, 7-, 9-, 21-, 27-, and 34-year-old in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China. The total C stocks in rubber plantations ranged from 150.3 to 283.7 Mg C ha(-1), with a mean of 213.4 Mg C ha(-1). The plantations < 9-year-old had significantly lower (P < 0.05) total C stocks than those older than 9 years. Carbon stocks in soil (mass equivalent) were between 107.1-170.5 Mg C hal-and in living biomass were between 2.8-95.7 Mg C ha(-1), representing the largest and the second largest C components in a rubber plantation ecosystem. Neglect of dry rubber C stock resulted in an underestimate of 7.8%-14.2% of the total C stock in the rubber plantations older than 9 years, which was much larger than the contribution of litter C stock (less than 2%). |
