Organic carbon stocks in aboveground biomass and soils in hyper-arid AlUla County, Saudi Arabia
Steven McGregor·Benjamin P Y-H Lee·Maurice Schutgens·Anthony Mills·Abdul-Lateef Ismail·Ruan van Mazijk·Sami D. Almalki·Robbert Duker·Miren Schleicher·Abdelsamad Eldabaa·William Liversage·Carly Butynski·Siân Rees·Ahmed H. Mohamed·Max D. Graham
Dryland ecosystems, which cover nearly half of the Earth's terrestrial surface, play a considerable role in global carbon dynamics yet remain underrepresented in carbon stock assessments. This study evaluates organic carbon stocks in six protected areas within the hyper-arid AlUla County, Saudi Arabia, focusing on aboveground biomass (AGB) of herbaceous plants, trees and shrubs, as well as soil organic carbon (SOC). Across six protected areas, 172 plots were sampled using species- and growth for