Organic carbon storage change in China's urban landfills from 1978–2014
China has produced increasingly large quantities of waste associated with its accelerated urbanization and economic development and deposited these wastes into landfills, potentially sequestering carbon. However, the magnitude of the carbon storage in China’s urban landfills and its spatial and temp...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2017-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa81df |
| _version_ | 1827870874373455872 |
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| author | Shidong Ge Shuqing Zhao |
| author_facet | Shidong Ge Shuqing Zhao |
| author_sort | Shidong Ge |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | China has produced increasingly large quantities of waste associated with its accelerated urbanization and economic development and deposited these wastes into landfills, potentially sequestering carbon. However, the magnitude of the carbon storage in China’s urban landfills and its spatial and temporal change remain unclear. Here, we estimate the total amount of organic carbon (OC) stored in China's urban landfills between 1978 and 2014 using a first order organic matter decomposition model and data compiled from literature review and statistical yearbooks. Our results show that total OC stored in China’s urban landfills increased nearly 68-fold from the 1970s to the 2010s, and reached 225.2–264.5 Tg C (95% confidence interval, hereafter) in 2014. Construction waste was the largest OC pool (128.4–157.5 Tg C) in 2014, followed by household waste (67.7–83.8 Tg C), and sewage sludge was the least (19.7–34.1 Tg C). Carbon stored in urban landfills accounts for more than 10% of the country’s carbon stocks in urban ecosystems. The annual increase (i.e. sequestration rate) of OC in urban landfills in the 2010s (25.1 ± 4.3 Tg C yr ^−1 , mean ± 2SD, hereafter) is equivalent to 1% of China's carbon emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production during the same period, but represents about 9% of the total terrestrial carbon sequestration in the country. Our study clearly indicates that OC dynamics in landfills should not be neglected in regional to national carbon cycle studies as landfills not only account for a substantial part of the carbon stored in urban ecosystems but also have a respectable contribution to national carbon sequestration. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:03:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f84fbde6e20141e7a4433fbf50f7cbf7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:03:11Z |
| publishDate | 2017-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-f84fbde6e20141e7a4433fbf50f7cbf72023-08-09T14:34:22ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262017-01-01121010401310.1088/1748-9326/aa81dfOrganic carbon storage change in China's urban landfills from 1978–2014Shidong Ge0Shuqing Zhao1College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University , 100871 Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaCollege of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University , 100871 Beijing, People’s Republic of China; Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed.China has produced increasingly large quantities of waste associated with its accelerated urbanization and economic development and deposited these wastes into landfills, potentially sequestering carbon. However, the magnitude of the carbon storage in China’s urban landfills and its spatial and temporal change remain unclear. Here, we estimate the total amount of organic carbon (OC) stored in China's urban landfills between 1978 and 2014 using a first order organic matter decomposition model and data compiled from literature review and statistical yearbooks. Our results show that total OC stored in China’s urban landfills increased nearly 68-fold from the 1970s to the 2010s, and reached 225.2–264.5 Tg C (95% confidence interval, hereafter) in 2014. Construction waste was the largest OC pool (128.4–157.5 Tg C) in 2014, followed by household waste (67.7–83.8 Tg C), and sewage sludge was the least (19.7–34.1 Tg C). Carbon stored in urban landfills accounts for more than 10% of the country’s carbon stocks in urban ecosystems. The annual increase (i.e. sequestration rate) of OC in urban landfills in the 2010s (25.1 ± 4.3 Tg C yr ^−1 , mean ± 2SD, hereafter) is equivalent to 1% of China's carbon emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production during the same period, but represents about 9% of the total terrestrial carbon sequestration in the country. Our study clearly indicates that OC dynamics in landfills should not be neglected in regional to national carbon cycle studies as landfills not only account for a substantial part of the carbon stored in urban ecosystems but also have a respectable contribution to national carbon sequestration.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa81dfcarbon storagecarbon sequestrationlandfillhousehold wasteconstructions wastesewage sludge |
| spellingShingle | Shidong Ge Shuqing Zhao Organic carbon storage change in China's urban landfills from 1978–2014 Environmental Research Letters carbon storage carbon sequestration landfill household waste constructions waste sewage sludge |
| title | Organic carbon storage change in China's urban landfills from 1978–2014 |
| title_full | Organic carbon storage change in China's urban landfills from 1978–2014 |
| title_fullStr | Organic carbon storage change in China's urban landfills from 1978–2014 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Organic carbon storage change in China's urban landfills from 1978–2014 |
| title_short | Organic carbon storage change in China's urban landfills from 1978–2014 |
| title_sort | organic carbon storage change in china s urban landfills from 1978 2014 |
| topic | carbon storage carbon sequestration landfill household waste constructions waste sewage sludge |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa81df |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT shidongge organiccarbonstoragechangeinchinasurbanlandfillsfrom19782014 AT shuqingzhao organiccarbonstoragechangeinchinasurbanlandfillsfrom19782014 |