Changes in soil organic and inorganic carbon with elevation in a1dry alpine rangeland of northern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

It remains unclear how changes in biotic and abiotic factors with elevation would shape the distribution of soil C stocks when plant communities are co-limited by water and low temperature. To address this uncertainty, we systematically set up seven sampling points along an elevational gradient between 3,000 m and 4,000 m above sea level and investigated the patterns of changes with elevation in the surface soil organic C (SOC) and inorganic C (SIC) in the northern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.