Abstract:Bamboo stand is one of important vegetation types in terrestrial ecosystem. China is located in the central distribution region of the globe. There are more than 500 bamboo species of 39 genera. The area of bamboo stand in China has been increasing from 2453900 hm2 in 1950s to 4842600 hm2 in early this century, increased by 97.34%. Estimating the carbon stock change in bamboo stands is therefore meaningful. The data for area, biomass, carbon fraction and soil organic carbon (SOC) of bamboo stands in China were collected from published literatures. Carbon stock and carbon stock changes in living biomass and soil organic matter of bamboo stands in China in last 50 years were estimated based on the collected data and the area of bamboo stands and the number of bamboos derived from China′s National Forestry Inventory that were conducted once every five years. Our estimation indicates that the carbon stocks in both living biomass and soil organic matter in bamboo stands have been increasing since 1950s. The estimated carbon stock is 322.65 TgC for inventory period 1950-1962, 431.15TgC for 1977-1981, 469.30TgC for 1984-1988, 499.25 TgC for 1989-1993, 55557TgC for 1994-1998 and 639.32TgC for 1999-2003. With the increasing forest area in China, carbon stock in China′s bamboo is expected to continuously increase.