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Modeling the effects of the Sloping Land Conversion Program on terrestrial ecosystem carbon dynamics in the Loess Plateau: A case study with Ansai County, Shaanxi province, China

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  • Zhou, Decheng
  • Zhao, Shuqing
  • Liu, Shuguang
  • Zhang, Liangxia

Abstract

The Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP), preferentially initiated to reduce water loss and soil erosion in the Loess Plateau of China in 1999, is the largest eco-restoration project in the world in recent decades. This massive effort improved the vegetation conditions markedly and was expected to have a great potential to enhance terrestrial carbon (C) sequestration. However, the spatially-explicit C consequences of the SLCP remain largely unknown at the regional scale. Using Ansai County in the Loess Plateau as a case study, we assessed the impacts of the SLCP on ecosystem C dynamics based on the General Ensemble Biogeochemical Modeling System (GEMS). The results showed that ecosystem C stock (including C stored in biomass and soil) decreased slightly in the first five years after the implementation of the SLCP (i.e., 1999–2003) due to the low production of the newly forested land, and increased evidently (mostly in biomass) thereafter thanks primarily to the growth of young plantations. Overall, the study area functioned as a net C sink in the past three decades, yet the magnitude was greatly amplified by the SLCP, indicated by a C sink in 2004–2010 nearly twelve times that in 1978–1998 (41.5 vs. 3.5gCm−2yr−1). These results highlight the importance of the SLCP in promoting terrestrial C sequestration which may help mitigate climate change. Nevertheless, there were time-lags between the impact of the SLCP and the associated C dynamics in the eco-restored areas, particularly in the soil, calling for future efforts toward addressing long-term C consequences of the SLCP.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhou, Decheng & Zhao, Shuqing & Liu, Shuguang & Zhang, Liangxia, 2014. "Modeling the effects of the Sloping Land Conversion Program on terrestrial ecosystem carbon dynamics in the Loess Plateau: A case study with Ansai County, Shaanxi province, China," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 288(C), pages 47-54.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:288:y:2014:i:c:p:47-54
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2014.05.016
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Li, Jiasheng & Guo, Xiaomin & Chuai, Xiaowei & Xie, Fangjian & Yang, Feng & Gao, Runyi & Ji, Xuepeng, 2021. "Reexamine China’s terrestrial ecosystem carbon balance under land use-type and climate change," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    2. Xiao Zhang & Yuanjie Deng & Mengyang Hou & Shunbo Yao, 2021. "Response of Land Use Change to the Grain for Green Program and Its Driving Forces in the Loess Hilly-Gully Region," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-28, February.
    3. Zhouqiao Ren & Wanxin Zhan & Qiaobing Yue & Jianhua He, 2020. "Prioritizing Agricultural Patches for Reforestation to Improve Connectivity of Habitat Conservation Areas: A Guide to Grain-to-Green Project," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-17, November.
    4. Tianhong Li & Yao Ding, 2017. "Spatial disparity dynamics of ecosystem service values and GDP in Shaanxi Province, China in the last 30 years," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(3), pages 1-20, March.
    5. Decheng Zhou & Lu Hao & John B. Kim & Peilong Liu & Cen Pan & Yongqiang Liu & Ge Sun, 2019. "Potential impacts of climate change on vegetation dynamics and ecosystem function in a mountain watershed on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 156(1), pages 31-50, September.

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