Global patterns and changes of carbon emissions from land use during 1992–2015

• Published in: Environmental science and ecotechnology Vol. 7; p. 100108
• Main Authors: Tian, Shiqi, Wang, Shijie, Bai, Xiaoyong, Luo, Guangjie, Li, Qin, Yang, Yujie, Hu, Zeyin, Li, Chaojun, Deng, Yuanhong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01-07-2021; Elsevier
• Subjects: Carbon emissions; Land use; Original Research; Soil organic carbon; Temporal-spatial change; Vegetation biomass carbon; Vegetation biomass carbon; Temporal-spatial change; Soil organic carbon; Land use; Carbon emissions
• ISSN: 2666-4984; 2096-9643; 2666-4984
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ese.2021.100108

Carbon emissions from land use (ELUC) are an important part of anthropogenic CO2 emissions, but its size and location remain uncertain, and our knowledge of the relationship between ELUC and GDP remains partial. We showed that the carbon emissions directly caused by land use change (direct ELUC) during 1992–2015 was 26.54 Pg C (1.15 Pg C yr-1), with a decreased trend and a net reduction rate of −0.15 Pg C yr-1. The areas that exhibited reductions were concentrated in South America, Central Africa, and Southeast Asia, and those with increments were scattered in Northwestern North America, Eastern South America, Central Africa, East Asia, and parts of Southeast Asia. For the indirect carbon emissions from the utilization of built-up land (indirect ELUC), it manifested an upward trend with a total emission of 27.51 Pg C (1.2 Pg C yr-1). The total value resulted by global ELUC was $136.3 × 109 US, and the value of annual was equivalent to 3.7 times the GDP of the Central African Republic in 2015 ($5.93 × 109 US yr-1). Among the 79 countries and regions considered in this study, 54 represented the upward GDP with increased emissions, and only 25 experienced GDP growth with emission reductions. These findings highlight the pivotal role of land use change in the carbon cycle and the significance of coordinated development between GDP and carbon emissions.
•Changes in direct ELUC are decreasing while indirect ELUC are increasing.•Areas where both direct ELUC increase and decrease are concentrated in the tropics.•China is the world's largest indirect ELUC, accounting for 41.62 % of the world.•There are 25 countries and regions with GDP growth while reducing ELUC.