Simulation of Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics in Chinese Rice Paddies from 1980 to 20001

Changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) of rice paddies in China were simulated from 1980 to 2000 by linking a coupled bio-physical model to GIS database. The coupled model consists of two sub-models including Crop-C for simulating net primary productivity and hence residue retention and Soil-C for computing the turnover rates of SOC. The GIS database included parameters of climate, soils and agricultural activities with the resolution of 10 km × 10 km. Model simulation indicated that Chinese rice paddies covering 22.6 Mha sequestrated a considerable amount of C, about 0.15 ± 0.07 Pg C from 1980 to 2000. Annual sequestration rate increased sharply from −180 ± 45 kg C ha−1 year−1 in 1980 to 440 ± 170 kg C ha−1 year−1 in 1989. Thereafter, a steady sequestration rate of 460 ± 170 kg C ha−1 year−1 occurred till 1994 and declined since then. Approximately 84% of the Chinese rice paddies sequestrated carbon, while 15% lost carbon and 1% kept balance over the 20 years. Great SOC sequestration occurred in eastern, southern and central China, while a slight decline of SOC existed in some regions of northeastern and southwestern China.