The Contribution of Saline-Alkali Land to the Terrestrial Carbon Stock Balance: The Case of an Important Agriculture and Ecological Region in Northeast China

Lei Chang, Tianhang Ju, Huijia Liu and Yuefen Li ()
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Lei Chang: College of Earth Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130061, China
Tianhang Ju: College of Earth Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130061, China
Huijia Liu: College of Earth Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130061, China
Yuefen Li: College of Earth Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130061, China

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-18

Abstract: Saline-alkali land is an important component of terrestrial ecosystems and may serve as a carbon sink but its net contribution to the overall terrestrial carbon sink is unknown. Using methods recommended by the IPCC, this study evaluates the impacts of interconverting saline-alkali and non-saline-alkali land on terrestrial carbon stocks by measuring two major carbon pools (soil organic carbon and vegetation carbon) in the saline-alkali land of China’s Songnen Plain. Distinct phases in the evolution of the region’s terrestrial carbon stock were delineated, factors contributing to transitions between phases were identified, and the effects of changes in the saline-alkali land carbon stock on the overall terrestrial carbon sink were estimated. Between 2005 and 2020, the region’s saline-alkali land carbon stock initially increased, then declined, and finally increased again. However, the overall terrestrial carbon stock decreased by 0.5 Tg (1 Tg = 10 12 g), indicating that the increase in the saline-alkali land carbon stock was due primarily to expansion of the saline-alkali land area. The conversion of non-saline-alkali land to saline-alkali land was a carbon-emitting process; consequently, in areas undergoing saline-alkali land change, the lower carbon density bound was equal to the carbon density of unconverted saline-alkali land and the upper bound was equal to the carbon density of unconverted non-saline-alkali land. In general, changes in the carbon stock of saline-alkali land correlated negatively with changes in the overall terrestrial carbon stock. The conversion of saline-alkali land into grassland and cropland through biochar improvement and the planting of saline-tolerant crops ( Leymus chinensis, salt-tolerant rice ) has a positive effect on promoting the enhancement of terrestrial carbon stocks.

Keywords: saline-alkali land; terrestrial carbon sink; contribution; Songnen Plain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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