Carbon Cycle in the Changing Arid Land of China: Yanqi Basin and Bosten Lake

Soil and sediment store a large amount of carbon. This book integrates studies of both organic carbon and carbonate in soil and lake sediment in a typical arid region of northwest China.

Arid and semi-arid regions cover more than 35% of Earth’s land surface. There has been evidence of significant carbon sequestration in various ecosystems, including in deserts, agricultural lands, groundwaters and inland water bodies in arid and semi-arid regions. This book demonstrates that carbonate accumulation greatly exceeds organic carbon in both soil and sediment. It also shows that intensive cropping in the arid land not only increases soil organic carbon stock, but also enhances accumulation of soil carbonate, particularly in subsoils. Carbon accumulation in the lake sediment has increased significantly since 1950. However, there is a large fluctuation in the rate of carbon burial, which is associated with human activity and climate change.

This book is of interest to researchers in a number of fields such as soil science, limnology and global change, as well as to the policy-makers.