Coupling of Forest Carbon Densities with Landscape Patterns and Climate Change in the Lesser Khingan Mountains, Northeast China

Abstract

This research investigated the effects of the forest landscape composition and spatial distribution and local climate change’s lag effects on the carbon density of stands and provides a reference for optimizing the stand structure and sustainable management of forest resources in Xinqing District, Yichun City, Heilongjiang Province, China. Using second-class forest resource survey data of the Xinqing Forestry Bureau for 2007 and 2017, the forest carbon density, landscape pattern index and local forest climate were quantified by ArcGIS10.7, Fragstats4.2 and SPSS25, and a coupling coordination degree model was constructed to reflect their correlations. The overall broadleaved mixed forest area was larger in the new green area, and the overall forest productivity had improved in the past ten years. Forest management gradually improved from nonforest to forest land, resulting in a high degree of fragmentation in the surrounding landscape. The coupling research on the forest carbon density and the forest landscape pattern index and local climate index showed that, overall, the landscape pattern and the impact of climate change on the forest carbon density had a positive interaction; adjustments and improvements can be made to the forest carbon density in the poor-condition area by combining specific situations of the landscape pattern and climate change.