ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Functional Plant Ecology
Distribution characteristics and influencing factors of carbon storage in Populus plantations with different stand ages in the Luxi Yellow River floodplain, China
Provisionally accepted
Zhibao Wang1*
Peiming Zheng2,3Yuwei Guo1Chuanjie Zhou1Jing Liang4Haibing Wu4Cheng Huang5Xiangbin Gao1Yanyi Zhang1- 1Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, China
- 2Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China
- 3Shandong University, Jinan, China
- 4Shanghai Academy of Landscape Architecture Science and Planning, Shanghai, China
- 5Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
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To explore the relationship between carbon storage and environmental factors in Populus plantations of different stand ages, and to reveal the carbon sequestration mechanisms of Populus plantations across different age classes, this study employed field surveys and laboratory analyses to investigate the distribution patterns and influencing factors of carbon storage in trunk-branch-leaf-root-soil systems of Populus plantations with different stand ages (10 y, 30 y, 40 y, 50 y) in the Luxi Yellow River Floodplain. The results showed that the carbon storage in trunks, branches, and roots increased gradually with increasing stand age, while the carbon storage in leaves reached a maximum of 7.52 t·hm⁻² at 40 y, followed by a gradual decrease. Soil carbon storage increased consistently with stand age. Overall, the total carbon storage of Populus plantations across different age classes exhibited a linear increasing trend with advancing standage. Correlation analysis, principal component analysis, and structural equation modeling indicated that diameter at breast height (DBH), tree height (H), tree age(AGE), and stand density (SD) were the key factors affecting carbon storage in Populus plantations. The findings of this study can provide theoretical basis and technical support for enhancing carbon sequestration and sink capacity, as well as ecological restoration of Populus plantations in the Luxi Yellow River Floodplain.
Keywords: biomass, Carbon Storage, Forest age, Populus planted forest, Yellow River floodplain
Received: 10 Dec 2025; Accepted: 29 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Wang, Zheng, Guo, Zhou, Liang, Wu, Huang, Gao and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zhibao Wang
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