Carbon stabilization in boreal forest soils

加拿大北方森林占据了该国77%的林地，占地球北方森林资源总量的三分之一以上。这些森林在全球范围内代表着一个巨大的碳库，包含了地球上所有植被和土壤中存在的近25%的总碳。北方森林碳储量的84%在土壤中，只有16%在植被中。鉴于它们在全球碳预算中的重要性，迫切需要更好地了解北方生态系统中碳积累和固存的过程。但对北方森林土壤中碳的生物地球化学研究很少，对其有机质的确切性质和稳定机制以及由此产生的土壤碳储量也知之甚少。

Canadian boreal forests occupy 77% of this country's forested land and account for over one third of the Earth's total boreal forest resource. These forests represent a huge reservoir of carbon on a global basis, containing close to 25% of the total carbon present in all the Earth's vegetation and soils. Eighty four percent of boreal forest carbon stocks are in soil, with only 16% in vegetation. In view of their importance in the global carbon budget, there is an urgent need to better understand the processes responsible for carbon accumulation and sequestration in boreal ecosystems. But there is a paucity of studies on carbon biogeochemistry in boreal forest soils, and very little is known about the exact nature and stabilization mechanisms of their organic matter, and resulting soil carbon stocks.