Impact of Land Use Change on Vegetation Carbon Storage During Rapid Urbanization: A Case Study of Hangzhou, China

• Published in: Chinese geographical science Vol. 31; no. 2; pp. 209 - 222
• Main Authors: Wang, Zhi, Xu, Lihua, Shi, Yijun, Ma, Qiwei, Wu, Yaqi, Lu, Zhangwei, Mao, Liwei, Pang, Enqi, Zhang, Qi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Science Press 01-04-2021; Springer Nature B.V; School of Environmental and Resource Sciences,Zhejiang A&F University,Hangzhou 311300,China%School of Landscape Ar-chitecture,Zhejiang A&F University,Hangzhou 311300,China%Hangzhou Planning&Design Academy,Hangzhou 310012,China
• Subjects: Agricultural land; Carbon sequestration; Earth and Environmental Science; Geography; Land use; Sustainable development; Urban development; Urbanization; Vegetation effects; Wetlands; China; land use change; GAIN-LOSS method; Hangzhou; vegetation carbon storage (VCS); urbanization; China; vegetation carbon storage(VCS); Hangzhou,China
• ISSN: 1002-0063; 1993-064X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11769-021-1183-y

Land use changes have significant impacts on the carbon balance in an urban ecosystem. When there is rapid development in urbanizing regions, land use changes have a dramatic effect on vegetation carbon storage (VCS). This study investigates the impact of land use change on VCS in a period of rapid urbanization in Hangzhou, China. The results show that: 1) from 2000 to 2015, land use in Hangzhou underwent huge changes, mainly reflected in decrease in cropland and wetland and the increased settlement. More than 34.58% of the land was transformed, and the land use changes are primarily characterized by a significant decrease in cropland due to the occupation by settlement. 2) over the 15 years, changes in land use led to a decrease of 3.93 × 10
5
t of VCS in the urban ecosystem. The large-scale transformation of cropland and wetland, which have a comparatively high carbon density, into land for settlement exerted a negative impact on VCS. 3) The central city, which with the Circle-E/I/O mode, had the lowest comprehensive land use dynamic degree, leading to moderate land use change and an increase in VCS; Yuhang and Xiaoshan, which with Multicore-E/O/I mode and Fan-E/O/I modes, had a higher comprehensive land use dynamic degree, drastic changes in land use, and a decrease in VCS. This study proposes a reliable method of estimating changes in VCS, clarifies the relationship between land use change and VCS during rapid urbanization, and provides recommendations for sustainable urban development.