Contribution of cropland expansion to regional carbon stocks in an arid area of China: a case study in Xinjiang
There has been an increasing number of studies on the potential effects of land-use change on the carbon (C) balance. However, few of these studies have focused on arid regions. Cropland in Xinjiang, a typical arid region in China, has expanded dramatically over the last 40 years. This study applied...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Carbon Management |
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| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17583004.2022.2043446 |
| _version_ | 1827810940307898368 |
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| author | Yuangang Wang Chaofan Li Friday Uchenna Ochege Qifei Han Olaf Hellwich Shixin Wu Geping Luo |
| author_facet | Yuangang Wang Chaofan Li Friday Uchenna Ochege Qifei Han Olaf Hellwich Shixin Wu Geping Luo |
| author_sort | Yuangang Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There has been an increasing number of studies on the potential effects of land-use change on the carbon (C) balance. However, few of these studies have focused on arid regions. Cropland in Xinjiang, a typical arid region in China, has expanded dramatically over the last 40 years. This study applied the Carbon Bookkeeping Model to estimate the changes in C stocks resulting from cropland expansion in Xinjiang from 1975 to 2015. The results showed that the area of cropland increased by a factor of ∼1.6. This increase was driven by advancements in agricultural technology and favorable agricultural policies. The increase in cropland area of 2.03 Mha (M = 106) was the result of the clearing of ∼4.09 Mha land for cropland and the conversion of 2.06 Mha cropland to other land cover types. The expansion in cropland resulted in substantial sequestration of C, with that in Xinjiang amounting to 94.24 Tg C (1Tg = 1012g), accounting for 1.4% of the regional C stocks. Land clearing for cropland (LCC) had the greatest contribution to C sequestration in Xinjiang. The rate of increase in C density through LCC was 0.61 Mg C ha−1a−1 and 1.54 Mg C ha−1a−1 from 1975 to 2004 and 2005 to 2015, respectively. C sequestration due to cropland loss (CLO) of 29.40 Tg C was attributed to the expansion of built-up land and afforestation. Sustainable agricultural activities represented by large-scale clearing for cropland were a major C sink in Xinjiang. Therefore, sustainable management of cropland is essential for maintaining a high C density and preventing loss of C to the atmosphere through cropland abandonment in the future. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T22:58:26Z |
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| id | doaj.art-3edfe8ff4f53417599b5c086b0c6962f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1758-3004 1758-3012 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T22:58:26Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Carbon Management |
| spelling | doaj.art-3edfe8ff4f53417599b5c086b0c6962f2023-09-21T15:09:07ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCarbon Management1758-30041758-30122022-01-01131425410.1080/17583004.2022.20434462043446Contribution of cropland expansion to regional carbon stocks in an arid area of China: a case study in XinjiangYuangang Wang0Chaofan Li1Friday Uchenna Ochege2Qifei Han3Olaf Hellwich4Shixin Wu5Geping Luo6State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of SciencesNanjing University of Information Science & TechnologyState Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of SciencesNanjing University of Information Science & TechnologyDepartment of Computer Vision & Remote Sensing, Technische Universität BerlinState Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of SciencesThere has been an increasing number of studies on the potential effects of land-use change on the carbon (C) balance. However, few of these studies have focused on arid regions. Cropland in Xinjiang, a typical arid region in China, has expanded dramatically over the last 40 years. This study applied the Carbon Bookkeeping Model to estimate the changes in C stocks resulting from cropland expansion in Xinjiang from 1975 to 2015. The results showed that the area of cropland increased by a factor of ∼1.6. This increase was driven by advancements in agricultural technology and favorable agricultural policies. The increase in cropland area of 2.03 Mha (M = 106) was the result of the clearing of ∼4.09 Mha land for cropland and the conversion of 2.06 Mha cropland to other land cover types. The expansion in cropland resulted in substantial sequestration of C, with that in Xinjiang amounting to 94.24 Tg C (1Tg = 1012g), accounting for 1.4% of the regional C stocks. Land clearing for cropland (LCC) had the greatest contribution to C sequestration in Xinjiang. The rate of increase in C density through LCC was 0.61 Mg C ha−1a−1 and 1.54 Mg C ha−1a−1 from 1975 to 2004 and 2005 to 2015, respectively. C sequestration due to cropland loss (CLO) of 29.40 Tg C was attributed to the expansion of built-up land and afforestation. Sustainable agricultural activities represented by large-scale clearing for cropland were a major C sink in Xinjiang. Therefore, sustainable management of cropland is essential for maintaining a high C density and preventing loss of C to the atmosphere through cropland abandonment in the future.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17583004.2022.2043446cropland expansioncarbon stocksbookkeeping modelarid regionxinjiang |
| spellingShingle | Yuangang Wang Chaofan Li Friday Uchenna Ochege Qifei Han Olaf Hellwich Shixin Wu Geping Luo Contribution of cropland expansion to regional carbon stocks in an arid area of China: a case study in Xinjiang Carbon Management cropland expansion carbon stocks bookkeeping model arid region xinjiang |
| title | Contribution of cropland expansion to regional carbon stocks in an arid area of China: a case study in Xinjiang |
| title_full | Contribution of cropland expansion to regional carbon stocks in an arid area of China: a case study in Xinjiang |
| title_fullStr | Contribution of cropland expansion to regional carbon stocks in an arid area of China: a case study in Xinjiang |
| title_full_unstemmed | Contribution of cropland expansion to regional carbon stocks in an arid area of China: a case study in Xinjiang |
| title_short | Contribution of cropland expansion to regional carbon stocks in an arid area of China: a case study in Xinjiang |
| title_sort | contribution of cropland expansion to regional carbon stocks in an arid area of china a case study in xinjiang |
| topic | cropland expansion carbon stocks bookkeeping model arid region xinjiang |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17583004.2022.2043446 |
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