Organic carbon storage in China's urban areas.

ABSTRACT: China has been experiencing rapid urbanization in parallel with its economic boom over the past three decades. To date, the organic carbon storage in China's urban areas has not been quantified. Here, using data compiled from literature review and statistical yearbooks, we estimated that total carbon storage in China's urban areas was 577 ± 60 Tg C (1 Tg = 10(12) g) in 2006. Soil was the largest contributor to total carbon storage (56%), followed by buildings (36%), and vegetation (7%), while carbon storage in humans was relatively small (1%). The carbon density in China's urban areas was 17.1 ± 1.8 kg C m(-2), about two times the national average of all lands. The most sensitive variable in estimating urban carbon storage was urban area. Examining urban carbon storages over a wide range o

SUBMITTER: Zhao S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3753297 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature