The carbon balance of terrestrial ecosystems in China

China's carbon balance The publication of a comprehensive assessment of China's terrestrial carbon budget fills a major gap in the geographical spread of carbon balance data, and helps to further reduce uncertainties in the Northern Hemisphere carbon balance. Three different indicators were used to monitor China's carbon balance and its driving mechanisms during the 1980s and 1990s: biomass and soil carbon inventories extrapolated from satellite greenness measurements, ecosystem models and atmospheric inversions. The three methods produce similar estimates for the net carbon sink at 0.19 to 0.26 petagrams per year. Global terrestrial ecosystems, in comparison, have absorbed carbon at a rate of 1 to 4 Pg carbon per year during the 1980s and 1990s, which offsets 10–60% of fossil fuel emissions. Northeast China is a net source of CO2 to the atmosphere as a result over-harvesting and degradation of forests. In contrast, southern China accounts for over 65% of the carbon sink, attributable to regional climate change, tree planting and shrub recovery.