Abstract:There were four kinds of typical shrub plantations in vegetation recovery areas of alpine desert in Gonghe Basin: Caragana korshinskii, Hippophae rhamnoides, Salix psammophila and Salix cheilophila. Results indicated that soil organic carbon density in the profile of 0 – 100 cm was 9.42, 6.73, 6.06, 4.56 and 3.67 kg/m2 for the shrub community of Hippophae rhamnoides, Salix psammophila, Salix cheilophila, Grassland, andCaragana korshinskii, respectively. The soil under Hippophae rhamnoides had the largest content of organic carbon, followed by Salix psammophila, Salix cheilophila, and Grassland, and the soil under Caragana korshinskii had the lowest content of organic carbon. Both soil texture and stratified conditions changed with soil depth in the range of 0 – 100 cm under different types of community. Soil organic carbon density decreased with the increasing soil depth, and the soil in top layer of 0 – 10 cm had the greatest content of organic carbon. The soil organic carbon content at the bottom slope of forest than that of grassland.