Increased Ecosystem Carbon Storage between 2001 and 2019 in the Northeastern Margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Global alpine ecosystems contain a large amount of carbon, which is sensitive to global change. Changes to alpine carbon sources and sinks have implications for carbon and climate feedback processes. To date, few studies have quantified the spatial-temporal variations in ecosystem carbon storage and...

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Main Authors: Peijie Wei, Shengyun Chen, Minghui Wu, Yinglan Jia, Haojie Xu, Deming Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-10-01
Series:Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/19/3986
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author Peijie Wei
Shengyun Chen
Minghui Wu
Yinglan Jia
Haojie Xu
Deming Liu
author_facet Peijie Wei
Shengyun Chen
Minghui Wu
Yinglan Jia
Haojie Xu
Deming Liu
author_sort Peijie Wei
collection DOAJ
description Global alpine ecosystems contain a large amount of carbon, which is sensitive to global change. Changes to alpine carbon sources and sinks have implications for carbon and climate feedback processes. To date, few studies have quantified the spatial-temporal variations in ecosystem carbon storage and its response to global change in the alpine regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). Ecosystem carbon storage in the northeastern QTP between 2001 and 2019 was simulated and systematically analyzed using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model. Furthermore, the Hurst exponent was obtained and used as an input to perform an analysis of the future dynamic consistency of ecosystem carbon storage. Our study results demonstrated that: (1) regression between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and biomass (coefficient of determination (<i>R</i><sup>2</sup>) = 0.974, <i>p</i> < 0.001), and between NDVI and soil organic carbon density (SOCD) (<i>R</i><sup>2</sup> = 0.810, <i>p</i> < 0.001) were valid; (2) the spatial distribution of ecosystem carbon storage decreased from the southeast to the northwest; (3) ecosystem carbon storage increased by 13.69% between 2001 and 2019, and the significant increases mainly occurred in the low-altitude regions; (4) climate and land use (LULC) changes caused increases in ecosystem carbon storage of 4.39 Tg C and 2.25 Tg C from 2001 to 2019, respectively; and (5) the future trend of ecosystem carbon storage in 92.73% of the study area shows high inconsistency but that in 7.27% was consistent. This study reveals that climate and LULC changes have positive effects on ecosystem carbon storage in the alpine regions of the QTP, which will provide valuable information for the formulation of eco-environmental policies and sustainable development.
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spelling doaj.art-f9c1d2088fde4b52b883af88c0ca5f9c2023-11-22T16:43:47ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922021-10-011319398610.3390/rs13193986Increased Ecosystem Carbon Storage between 2001 and 2019 in the Northeastern Margin of the Qinghai-Tibet PlateauPeijie Wei0Shengyun Chen1Minghui Wu2Yinglan Jia3Haojie Xu4Deming Liu5Cryosphere and Eco-Environment Research Station of Shule River Headwaters, State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaCryosphere and Eco-Environment Research Station of Shule River Headwaters, State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaCryosphere and Eco-Environment Research Station of Shule River Headwaters, State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaCryosphere and Eco-Environment Research Station of Shule River Headwaters, State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Grassland Agroecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, ChinaLong-Term National Scientific Research Base of the Qilian Mountain National Park, Xining 810000, ChinaGlobal alpine ecosystems contain a large amount of carbon, which is sensitive to global change. Changes to alpine carbon sources and sinks have implications for carbon and climate feedback processes. To date, few studies have quantified the spatial-temporal variations in ecosystem carbon storage and its response to global change in the alpine regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). Ecosystem carbon storage in the northeastern QTP between 2001 and 2019 was simulated and systematically analyzed using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model. Furthermore, the Hurst exponent was obtained and used as an input to perform an analysis of the future dynamic consistency of ecosystem carbon storage. Our study results demonstrated that: (1) regression between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and biomass (coefficient of determination (<i>R</i><sup>2</sup>) = 0.974, <i>p</i> < 0.001), and between NDVI and soil organic carbon density (SOCD) (<i>R</i><sup>2</sup> = 0.810, <i>p</i> < 0.001) were valid; (2) the spatial distribution of ecosystem carbon storage decreased from the southeast to the northwest; (3) ecosystem carbon storage increased by 13.69% between 2001 and 2019, and the significant increases mainly occurred in the low-altitude regions; (4) climate and land use (LULC) changes caused increases in ecosystem carbon storage of 4.39 Tg C and 2.25 Tg C from 2001 to 2019, respectively; and (5) the future trend of ecosystem carbon storage in 92.73% of the study area shows high inconsistency but that in 7.27% was consistent. This study reveals that climate and LULC changes have positive effects on ecosystem carbon storage in the alpine regions of the QTP, which will provide valuable information for the formulation of eco-environmental policies and sustainable development.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/19/3986InVEST modelglobal changeecosystem carbon storageHurst exponentQinghai-Tibet Plateau
spellingShingle Peijie Wei
Shengyun Chen
Minghui Wu
Yinglan Jia
Haojie Xu
Deming Liu
Increased Ecosystem Carbon Storage between 2001 and 2019 in the Northeastern Margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
Remote Sensing
InVEST model
global change
ecosystem carbon storage
Hurst exponent
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
title Increased Ecosystem Carbon Storage between 2001 and 2019 in the Northeastern Margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
title_full Increased Ecosystem Carbon Storage between 2001 and 2019 in the Northeastern Margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
title_fullStr Increased Ecosystem Carbon Storage between 2001 and 2019 in the Northeastern Margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
title_full_unstemmed Increased Ecosystem Carbon Storage between 2001 and 2019 in the Northeastern Margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
title_short Increased Ecosystem Carbon Storage between 2001 and 2019 in the Northeastern Margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
title_sort increased ecosystem carbon storage between 2001 and 2019 in the northeastern margin of the qinghai tibet plateau
topic InVEST model
global change
ecosystem carbon storage
Hurst exponent
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/19/3986
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