Abstract
Land use/cover change (LUCC) has an important impact on the terrestrial carbon cycle. The spatial distribution of regional carbon reserves can provide the scientific basis for the management of ecosystem carbon storage and the formulation of ecological and environmental policies. This paper proposes a method combining the CA-based FLUS model and the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) model to assess the temporal and spatial changes in ecosystem carbon storage due to land-use changes over 1990–2015 in the Qinghai Lake Basin (QLB). Furthermore, future ecosystem carbon storage is simulated and evaluated over 2020–2030 under three scenarios of natural growth (NG), cropland protection (CP), and ecological protection (EP). The long-term spatial variations in carbon storage in the QLB are discussed. The results show that: (1) Carbon storage in the QLB decreased at first (1990–2000) and increased later (2000–2010), with total carbon storage increasing by 1.60 Tg C (Teragram: a unit of mass equal to 1012 g). From 2010 to 2015, carbon storage displayed a downward trend, with a sharp decrease in wetlands and croplands as the main cause; (2) Under the NG scenario, carbon reserves decrease by 0.69 Tg C over 2020–2030. These reserves increase significantly by 6.77 Tg C and 7.54 Tg C under the CP and EP scenarios, respectively, thus promoting the benign development of the regional ecological environment. This study improves our understanding on the impact of land-use change on carbon storage for the QLB in the northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP).
Highlights
Global climate change has greatly affected ecosystem patterns and processes, which have been spurred by human activities [1,2]
Changes in regional ecosystem carbon storage have a profound influence on the global carbon cycle and atmospheric CO2 concentrations, as carbon sequestration plays a crucial role in reducing the concentration of greenhouse gases
We focus on the impact of land use/cover change (LUCC) on the ecosystem service of carbon storage in the Qinghai Lake Basin (QLB) of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP)
Summary
Global climate change has greatly affected ecosystem patterns and processes, which have been spurred by human activities [1,2]. Land use/cover change (LUCC) has had a significant impact on ecosystem functions, which has become one of the most critical issues in ecosystem and land science research [3,4,5]. Changes in regional ecosystem carbon storage have a profound influence on the global carbon cycle and atmospheric CO2 concentrations, as carbon sequestration plays a crucial role in reducing the concentration of greenhouse gases. Organic carbon storage in the soil affects climate regulation, and is an important issue in global climate change research [6,7,8]
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