• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.115-123
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• 2008

We describe plant biomass in the grasslands of the Mongolian steppe obtained using a quadrat sampling technique. Four sites were studied in the northeastern Mongolia located between $47^{\circ}12'N$ and $47^{\circ}40'N$ and $102^{\circ}22'E$ and $112^{\circ}24'E$, which were typical grasslands of the steppe. Biomass, carbon and nitrogen content were determined for the plants collected from the grazed and ungarazed stands. With the measurements above, we expect to obtain information on grazing effects on the grasslands and carbon sequestration of the grassland from the air. In order to estimate the biomass without destroying the stands, we derived an equation to describe the relationship between plant biomass and v-value using plant height and species coverage within the stand. Estimated plant biomass in the ungrazed and grazed stands ranged between $108.0\;g\;m^{-2}$ and $13.4\;g\;m^{-2}$ and between $97.5\;g\;m^{-2}$ and $14.1\;g\;m^{-2}$ in late June 2005, respectively. Litter in the ungrazed and grazed stands ranged from $330.3\;g\;m^{-2}$ to $78.4\;g\;m^{-2}$ and from $188.0\;g\;m^{-2}$ to $20.3\;g\;m^{-2}$, similarly. Average carbon and nitrogen contents in plants and in litter were 43.0% and 1.9% and 33.7% and 1.4%, respectively. In study sites at Baganuur, the carbon and nitrogen content of plant materials (plant plus litter) was $118.4\;g\;m^{-2}$ and $4.7\;g\;m^{-2}$ on 30 June 2005.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.150-158
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• 2019

Exotic conifer trees have been extensively planted in southern China because of their high apparent growth and yield. These fast-growing plantations are expected to persist as a considerable potential for temporary and long-term carbon sink to offset greenhouse gas emissions. However, information on the carbon storage across different age ranges in exotic pine plantations is often lacking. We first estimated the ecosystem carbon storage across different age ranges of exotic pine plantations in China by quantifying above- and below-ground ecosystem carbon pools. The carbon storage of each tree component of exotic pine (Pinus elliottii) increased significantly with increasing age in Duchang and Yiyang areas. The stem carbon storage except <10 years in Ji'an areas was the largest component among all other components, which accounts for about 50% of the total carbon storage followed by roots (~28%), branches (~18%), and foliage (~9%). The mean total tree carbon storage of slash pine plantations for <10, 10-20 and 20-30 years across three study areas was 3.69, 13.91 and $20.57Mg\;ha^{-1}$, respectively. The carbon stocks in understory and forest floor were age-independent. Total tree and soil were two dominant carbon pools in slash pine plantations at all age sequences. The carbon contribution of aboveground ecosystem increased with increasing age, while that of belowground ecosystem declined. The mean total ecosystem carbon storage of slash pine plantations for <10, 10-20 and 20-30 years across China was 30.26, 98.66 and $98.89Mg\;ha^{-1}$, respectively. Although subtropical climate in China was suitable for slash pine growth, the mean total carbon stocks in slash pine plantations at all age sequences from China were lower than that values reported in American slash pine plantations.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.661-670
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• 2012

Urban forests provide great ecosystem services to population in metropolitan areas even though they occupy little green space in a huge gray landscape. Unfortunately, urbanization inherently results in threatening the green infrastructure, and the recent urbanization trends drew great attention of scientists and policy makers on how to preserve or restore green infrastructure in metropolitan area. For this reason, mapping the spatial distribution of the green infrastructure is important in urban environments since the resulting map helps us identify hot green spots and set up long term plan on how to preserve or restore green infrastructure in urban environments. As a preliminary step for mapping green infrastructure utilizing multi-source remote sensing data in urban environments, the objective of this study is to map vegetation volume by fusing LiDAR and multispectral data in urban environments. Multispectral imageries are used to identify the two dimensional distribution of green infrastructure, while LiDAR data are utilized to characterize the vertical structure of the identified green structure. Vegetation volume was calculated over the metropolitan Chicago city area, and the vegetation volume was summarized over 16 NLCD classes. The experimental results indicated that vegetation volume varies greatly even in the same land cover class, and traditional land cover map based above ground biomass estimation approach may introduce bias in the estimation results.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.1509-1517
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• 2013

So far, most studies associated with soil carbon sequestration have been focused on long term aspect. However, information regarding soil carbon sequestration in short term aspect is limited. This study was conducted to determine changes of soil organic carbon content and stability of carbon in response to compost application rate and tillage management during rice growing season(150 days) in short term aspect. Under pot experiment condition, compost was mixed with an arable soil at rates corresponding to 0, 6, 12, and 24 Mg/ha. To determine effect of tillage on soil carbon sequestration, till and no-till treatments were set up in soils amended with application rate of 12 Mg/ha. Compost application and tillage management did not significantly affect soil organic carbon(SOC) content in soil at harvest time. Bulk density of soil was not changed significantly with compost application and tillage management. These might result from short duration of experiment. While hot water extractable organic carbon(HWEOC) content decreased with compost application, humic substances(HS) increased. Below ground biomass of rice increased with application of compost and till operation. From the above results, continuos application of compost and reduce tillage might improve increase in soil organic carbon content and stability of carbon in long term aspect.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.571-578
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• 2013

This study generated regression models through a direct harvesting method to estimate carbon storage and uptake by Pinus densiflora and Pinus koraiensis, the major evergreen tree species in urban landscape, and established essential information to quantify carbon reduction by urban trees. Open-grown landscape tree individuals for each species were sampled reflecting various diameter sizes at a given interval. The study measured biomass for each part including the roots of sample trees to compute the total carbon storage per tree. Annual carbon uptake per tree was quantified by analyzing radial growth rates of stem samples at breast height. The study then derived a regression model easily applicable in estimating carbon storage and uptake per tree for the two species by using diameter at breast height (DBH) as an independent variable. All the regression models showed high fitness with $r^2$ values of higher than 0.98. While carbon storage and uptake by young trees tended to be greater for P. densiflora than for P. koraiensis in the same diameter sizes, those by mature trees with DBH sizes of larger than 20 cm showed results to the contrary due to a difference in growth rates. A tree of P. densiflora and P. koraiensis with DBH of 25 cm stored 115.6 kg and 130.0 kg of carbon, respectively, and annually sequestered 9.4 kg and 14.6 kg. The study has broken new grounds to overcome limitations of the past studies which quantified carbon reduction of the study species by substituting, due to a difficulty in direct cutting and root digging of landscape trees, coefficients from forest trees such as biomass expansion factors, ratios of below ground/above ground biomass, and diameter growth rates.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.204-214
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• 2023

This study aimed to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the potential impact of deforestation and forest restoration on carbon storage in North Korea until 2050, employing rigorous analyses of trends of land use change in the past periods and projecting future land use change scenarios. We utilized the CA-Markov model, which can reflect spatial trends in land use changes, and verified the impact of forest restoration strategies on carbon storage by creating land use change scenarios (reforestation and non-reforestation). We employed two distinct periods of land use maps (2000 to 2010 and 2010 to 2020). To verify the overall terrestrial carbon storage in North Korea, our evaluation included estimations of carbon storage for various elements such as above-ground, below-ground, soil, and debris (including litters) for settlement, forest, cultivated, grass, and bare areas. Our results demonstrated that effective forest restoration strategies in North Korea have the potential to increase carbon storage by 4.4% by the year 2050, relative to the carbon storage observed in 2020. In contrast, if deforestation continues without forest restoration efforts, we predict a concerning decrease in carbon storage by 11.5% by the year 2050, compared to the levels in 2020. Our findings underscore the significance of prioritizing and continuing forest restoration efforts to effectively increase carbon storage in North Korea. Furthermore, the implications presented in this study are expected to be used in the formulation and implementation of long-term forest restoration strategies in North Korea, while fostering international cooperation towards this common environmental goal.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.561-570
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• 2013

Organic carbon distribution and carbon budget of a Pinus densiflora forest in the Songgye valley of Mt. Worak National Park were investigated. Carbon in above and below ground standing biomass, litter layer, and soil organic carbon were measured from May 2011 through April 2012. For the estimation of carbon budget, soil respiration was measured. The amount of carbon allocated to above and below ground biomass was 52.25 and 14.52 ton C $ha^{-1}$. Amount of organic carbon in annual litterfall was 4.71 ton C $ha^{-1}$. Amount of organic carbon within 50cm soil depth was 58.56 ton C $ha^{-1}$ 50cm-$depth^{-1}$. Total amount of organic carbon in this Pinus densiflora forest was estimated to 130.04 ton C $ha^{-1}$. Amount of organic carbon in tree layer, shrub and herb layer was 4.12, 0.10 and 0.04 ton C $ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$ and total amount of organic carbon was 4.26 ton C $ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$. Amount of organic carbon returned to the forest via litterfall was 1.62 ton C $ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$. The amount of carbon evolved through soil respiration was 6.25 ton C $ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$. The amount of carbon evolved through microbial respiration and root respiration was 3.19 and 3.06 ton C $ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$. The amount of organic carbon absorbed from the atmosphere of this Pinus densiflora forest was 1.07 ton C $ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$ when it was estimated from the difference between Net Primary Production and microbial respiration.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.97-104
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• 2017

Greenspace enlargement through proper landscape planting is essential to creating a low carbon society. This study analyzed changes in stem diameter growth rates(DGR), ratios of below ground/above ground biomass(B/A), and carbon sequestration by age of major landscape tree species. Landscape trees for study were 11 species and 112 individuals planted in middle region of Korea. The DGR and B/A were analyzed based on data measured through a direct harvesting method including root digging. The carbon sequestration by tree age was estimated applying the derived regression models. The annual DGR at breast height of trees over 30 years averaged 0.72 cm/yr for deciduous species and 0.83 cm/yr for evergreen species. The B/A of the trees over 30 years averaged 0.23 for evergreen species and 0.40 for deciduous species, about 1.7 times higher than evergreen species. The B/A by age in this study did not correspond to the existing result that it decreased as tree ages became older. Of the study tree species, cumulative carbon sequestration over 25 years was greatest with Zelkova serrata(198.3 kg), followed by Prunus yedoensis(121.7 kg), Pinus koraiensis(117.5 kg), and Pinus densiflora (77.4 kg) in that order. The cumulative carbon sequestration by Z. serrata offset about 5% of carbon emissions per capita from household electricity use for the same period. The growth rates and carbon sequestration for landscape trees were much greater than those for forest trees even for the same species. Based on these results, landscape planting and management strategies were explored to improve carbon sequestration, including tree species selection, planting density, and growth ground improvement. This study breaks new ground in discovering changes in growth and carbon sequestration by age of landscape trees and is expected to be useful in establishing urban greenspaces towards a low carbon society.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.13-21
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• 2014

This study generated regression models to quantify storage and annual uptake of carbon from five native landscape tree species through a direct harvesting method, and established essential information to estimate carbon reduction effects from urban greenspaces. Tree species for the study included the Chionanthus retusus, Prunus armeniaca, Abies holophylla, Cornus officinalis, and Taxus cuspidata, which are usually planted in cities of middle Korea, but for which no information on carbon reduction is available. Ten tree individuals for each species were sampled reflecting various stem diameter sizes at a given interval. The study measured biomass for each part including the roots of sample trees to compute total carbon storage per tree. The annual carbon uptake per tree was quantified by analyzing the radial growth rates of stem samples at breast height or ground level. Regression models were developed using diameter at breast height (dbh) or ground level (dg) as an independent variable to easily estimate storage and annual uptake of carbon per tree for each species. All the regression models showed high fitness with $r^2$ values of 0.92~0.99. Storage and annual uptake of carbon from a tree with dbh of 10 cm were greatest with C. retusus (20.0 kg and 5.9 kg/yr, respectively), followed by P. armeniaca (17.5 kg and 4.5 kg/yr) and A. holophylla (13.2kg and 1.8 kg/yr) in order. A C. officinalis tree and T. cuspidata tree with dg of 10 cm stored 9.3 and 6.3 kg of carbon and annually sequestered 3.2 and 0.6 kg, respectively. The above-mentioned carbon storage equaled the amount of carbon emitted from gasoline consumption of about 23~35 L for C. retusus, P. armeniaca, and A. holophylla, and 11~16 L for C. officinalis and T. cuspidata. A tree with the diameter size of 10 cm annually offset carbon emissions from gasoline use of about 6~10 L for C. retusus, P. armeniaca, and C. officinalis, and 1~3 L for A. holophylla and T. cuspidata. The study breaks new ground to easily quantify biomass and carbon reduction for the tree species by overcoming difficulties in direct cutting and root digging of urban landscape trees.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.243-252
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• 2016

Comparison of Organic carbon in the Quercus mongolica and Pinus densiflora forest at Mt. Gumgang were investigated. Carbon in above and below ground standing biomass, litter layer, and soil organic carbon were measured from September 2013 through August 2014. For the estimation of carbon cycling, soil respiration was measured. The amount of carbon allocated to above and below ground biomass in Q. mongolica and P. densiflora forest was 115.07/34.36, $28.77/8.59ton\;C\;ha^{-1}$, respectively. Amount of organic carbon in annual litterfall in Q. mongolica and P. densiflora forest was 4.89, $6.02ton\;C\;ha^{-1}$, respectively. Amount of organic carbon within 50cm soil depth was 132.78, $59.72ton\;C\;ha^{-1}$ $50cm-depth^{-1}$, respectively. Total amount of organic carbon in Q. mongolica and P. densiflora forest estimated to 281.52, $108.69ton\;C\;ha^{-1}$, respectively. Amount of organic carbon returned to the forest via litterfall in Q. mongolica and P. densiflora forest was 2.83, $2.20ton\;C\;ha^{-1}$, respectively. The amount of organic carbon absorbed from the atmosphere of this Q. mongolica and P. densiflora forest was 3.90, $0.81ton\;C\;ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$ respectively. Absorption of organic carbon in Q. mongolica forest was remarkably higher than P. densiflora forest.