Analysis of spatio-temporal changes in forest biomass in China

Forests play a central role in the global carbon cycle. China's forests have a high carbon sequestration potential owing to their wide distribution, young age and relatively low carbon density. Forest biomass is an essential variable for assessing carbon sequestration capacity, thus determining...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of forestry research 2022-02, Vol.33 (1), p.261-278
Main Authors: Xu, Weiyi, Jin, Xiaobin, Liu, Jing, Yang, Xuhong, Ren, Jie, Zhou, Yinkang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age composition
Analysis
Biomass
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Carbon cycle
Carbon cycle (Biogeochemistry)
Carbon sequestration
Carbon sinks
Carbon sources
Distribution patterns
Environmental protection
Forest biomass
Forest management
Forestry
Forests
Geospatial data
Life Sciences
Mountains
Original Paper
Spatial distribution
Sustainability management
Sustainable forestry
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Summary:Forests play a central role in the global carbon cycle. China's forests have a high carbon sequestration potential owing to their wide distribution, young age and relatively low carbon density. Forest biomass is an essential variable for assessing carbon sequestration capacity, thus determining the spatio-temporal changes of forest biomass is critical to the national carbon budget and to contribute to sustainable forest management. Based on Chinese forest inventory data (1999–2013), this study explored spatial patterns of forest biomass at a grid resolution of 1 km by applying a downscaling method and further analyzed spatio-temporal changes of biomass at different spatial scales. The main findings are: (1) the regression relationship between forest biomass and the associated influencing factors at a provincial scale can be applied to estimate biomass at a pixel scale by employing a downscaling method; (2) forest biomass had a distinct spatial pattern with the greatest biomass occurring in the major mountain ranges; (3) forest biomass changes had a notable spatial distribution pattern; increase (i.e., carbon sinks) occurred in east and southeast China, decreases (i.e., carbon sources) were observed in the northeast to southwest, with the largest biomass losses in the Hengduan Mountains, Southern Hainan and Northern Da Hinggan Mountains; and, (4) forest vegetation functioned as a carbon sink during 1999–2013 with a net increase in biomass of 3.71 Pg.
ISSN:1007-662X
1993-0607
DOI:10.1007/s11676-021-01299-8