Review

.2022 May;65(5):861-895.

doi: 10.1007/s11427-021-2045-5. Epub 2022 Feb 8.

Terrestrial carbon sinks in China and around the world and their contribution to carbon neutrality

Yuanhe Yang^#^{1 2}, Yue Shi^#^{1 2}, Wenjuan Sun^#^{1 2}, Jinfeng Chang^#³, Jianxiao Zhu⁴, Leiyi Chen¹, Xin Wang¹, Yanpei Guo⁵, Hongtu Zhang⁵, Lingfei Yu¹, Shuqing Zhao⁵, Kang Xu³, Jiangling Zhu⁵, Haihua Shen^{1 2}, Yuanyuan Wang¹, Yunfeng Peng¹, Xia Zhao¹, Xiangping Wang⁶, Huifeng Hu¹, Shiping Chen^{1 2}, Mei Huang⁷, Xuefa Wen^{2 7}, Shaopeng Wang⁵, Biao Zhu⁵, Shuli Niu^{2 7}, Zhiyao Tang⁵, Lingli Liu^{1 2}, Jingyun Fang^{8 9}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China.
² University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
³ College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730020, China.
⁵ Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
⁶ School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forest University, Beijing, 100083, China.
⁷ Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
⁸ State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China. jyfang@urban.pku.edu.cn.
⁹ Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China. jyfang@urban.pku.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID:35146581
DOI: 10.1007/s11427-021-2045-5

Review

Terrestrial carbon sinks in China and around the world and their contribution to carbon neutrality

Yuanhe Yang et al. Sci China Life Sci.2022 May.

.2022 May;65(5):861-895.

doi: 10.1007/s11427-021-2045-5. Epub 2022 Feb 8.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China.
² University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
³ College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730020, China.
⁵ Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
⁶ School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forest University, Beijing, 100083, China.
⁷ Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
⁸ State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China. jyfang@urban.pku.edu.cn.
⁹ Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China. jyfang@urban.pku.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID:35146581
DOI: 10.1007/s11427-021-2045-5

Abstract

Enhancing the terrestrial ecosystem carbon sink (referred to as terrestrial C sink) is an important way to slow down the continuous increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration and to achieve carbon neutrality target. To better understand the characteristics of terrestrial C sinks and their contribution to carbon neutrality, this review summarizes major progress in terrestrial C budget researches during the past decades, clarifies spatial patterns and drivers of terrestrial C sources and sinks in China and around the world, and examines the role of terrestrial C sinks in achieving carbon neutrality target. According to recent studies, the global terrestrial C sink has been increasing from a source of (-0.2±0.9) Pg C yr^-1 (1 Pg=10¹⁵ g) in the 1960s to a sink of (1.9±1.1) Pg C yr^-1 in the 2010s. By synthesizing the published data, we estimate terrestrial C sink of 0.20-0.25 Pg C yr^-1 in China during the past decades, and predict it to be 0.15-0.52 Pg C yr^-1 by 2060. The terrestrial C sinks are mainly located in the mid- and high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, while tropical regions act as a weak C sink or source. The C balance differs much among ecosystem types: forest is the major C sink; shrubland, wetland and farmland soil act as C sinks; and whether the grassland functions as C sink or source remains unclear. Desert might be a C sink, but the magnitude and the associated mechanisms are still controversial. Elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentration, nitrogen deposition, climate change, and land cover change are the main drivers of terrestrial C sinks, while other factors such as fires and aerosols would also affect ecosystem C balance. The driving factors of terrestrial C sink differ among regions. Elevated CO₂ concentration and climate change are major drivers of the C sinks in North America and Europe, while afforestation and ecological restoration are additionally important forcing factors of terrestrial C sinks in China. For future studies, we recommend the necessity for intensive and long term ecosystem C monitoring over broad geographic scale to improve terrestrial biosphere models for accurately evaluating terrestrial C budget and its dynamics under various climate change and policy scenarios.

Keywords: carbon cycle; carbon neutrality; carbon sink; global warming; terrestrial ecosystem.

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Terrestrial carbon sinks in China and around the world and their contribution to carbon neutrality

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Terrestrial carbon sinks in China and around the world and their contribution to carbon neutrality

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