Shrub recovery is one of significant contributors to the increase of carbon stocks in terrestrial ecosystems in China,yet there remains considerable uncertainty regarding the contribution of shrubs to the carbon sink. To reveal the carbon density of different layers of shrublands in North China,the carbon density and distribution characteristics of two typical shrub lands (Vitex negundo var. heterophylla and Spiraea salicifolia) in Dongling Mountain,Beijing,were measured based on the field investigation data and by employing allometric approaches. The results showed that the total carbon density (92.32 t/hm²) of V. negundo shrubland was significantly higher than that (70.47 t/hm²) of S. salicifolia shrubland (P<0.05),in which the carbon storage of soil layer was the most (94.96% and 91.54%),and the carbon storage were 87.67 t/hm² and 64.51 t/hm²,respectively. Soil organic carbon was enriched in the 0-30 cm soil layer,and showed a decreasing trend with increasing soil depth. The organic carbon density in different soil layers of the V. negundo shrubland is higher than that of the S. salicifolia shrubland,possibly due to factors such as the high yield,quality of the litter,and wide vertical distribution range of roots of V. negundo shrubland. The contribution of the shrub layer of V. negundo shrubland and S. salicifolia to the carbon density of the entire ecosystem is relatively small (4.73% and 7.86%),and the carbon density were 4.37 t/hm² and 5.54 t/hm²,respectively,in which,the carbon density of branches in the shrub layer was the highest,followed by root,and then leaf. The carbon density of the shrub layer was markedly positively correlated with the shrub density (P < 0.05). The herbaceous layer of the two shrublands contributes the least to the total carbon density of shrublands (0.31% and 0.60%),and the carbon density were 0.28 t/hm² and 0.42 t/hm²,respectively,and the aboveground part of the herbaceous layer has a higher carbon density than the underground part. Evaluating the carbon density of shrublands provides important measured data for developing and validating C cycling models in regional terrestrial ecosystems,and providing data support for shrublands management.