Editorial: Organic carbon pools in permafrost regions on the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibetan) Plateau

Abstract

The current Northern Circumpolar Soil Carbon Database did not include organic carbon storage in permafrost regions on the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibetan) Plateau (QXP). In this study, we reported a new estimation of soil organic carbon (SOC) pools in the permafrost regions on the QXP up to 25 m depth using a total of 190 soil profiles. The SOC pools were estimated to be 17.3 ± 5.3 Pg for the 0-1 m depth, 10.6 ± 2.7 Pg for the 1-2 m depth, 5.1 ± 1.4 Pg for the 2-3 m depth and 127.2 ± 37.3 Pg for the layer of 3-25 m depth. The percentage of SOC storage in deep layers (3-25 m) on the QXP (80%) was higher than that (39%) in the yedoma and thermokarst deposits in arctic regions. In total, permafrost regions on the QXP contain approximately 160 ± 87 Pg SOC, of which approximately 132 ± 77 Pg (83%) stores in perennially frozen soils and deposits. Total organic carbon pools in permafrost regions on the QXP was approximately 8.7% of that in northern circumpolar permafrost region. The present study demonstrates that the total organic carbon storage is about 1832 Pg in permafrost regions on northern hemisphere.