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Wind profile data were measured by a wind profiler at QOMS (The Qomolangma Station for Atmospheric Environmental Observation and Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences) and, in separate experiments, GPS radiosondes were used at Shiquanhe Station and Litang Station on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). All three stations are located in the most rugged areas of the TP. QOMS is surrounded by the Himalaya, Shiquanhe Station by the Transhimalaya and Litang station is near the Hengduan Mountains. Using observational wind profile data, effective aerodynamic roughness length [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tibetan highlands host the largest alpine grassland ecosystems worldwide, bearing soils that store substantial stocks of carbon (C) that are very sensitive to land use changes. This study focuses on the cycling of photoassimilated C within a Kobresia pygmaea pasture, the dominating ecosystems on the Tibetan highlands. We investigated short-term effects of grazing cessation and the role of the characteristic Kobresia root turf on C fluxes and belowground C turnover. By combining eddy-covariance measurements with (13)CO₂ pulse labeling we applied a powerful new approach to measure absolute fluxes of assimilates within and between various pools of the plant-soil-atmosphere system. The roots and soil each store roughly 50% of the overall C in the system (76 Mg C ha(-1)), with only a minor contribution from shoots, which is also expressed in the root:shoot ratio of 90. During June and July the pasture acted as a weak C sink with a strong uptake of approximately 2 g C m(-2) d(-1) in the first half of July. The root turf was the main compartment for the turnover of photoassimilates, with a subset of highly dynamic roots (mean residence time 20 days), and plays a key role for the C cycling and C storage in this ecosystem. The short-term grazing cessation only affected aboveground biomass but not ecosystem scale C exchange or assimilate allocation into roots and soil., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)