Spatial Patterns and Controlling Mechanisms of CO 2 Fluxes Across China’s Diverse Wetlands Based on Eddy Covariance Measurements

Fengfeng Du, Zengshan Chen, Xixi Li, Jixiang Liu, Xuhui Kan, Yanjie Wang, Xiaojing Liu () and Dongrui Yao ()
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Fengfeng Du: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Plant Resources, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
Zengshan Chen: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Plant Resources, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
Xixi Li: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Plant Resources, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
Jixiang Liu: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Plant Resources, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
Xuhui Kan: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Plant Resources, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
Yanjie Wang: College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Xiaojing Liu: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Plant Resources, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
Dongrui Yao: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Plant Resources, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 8, 1-15

Abstract: Wetlands play a critical role in modulating the global carbon cycle and significantly contribute to climate change mitigation. China’s wetlands are characterized by high diversity, a large total area, wide distribution, and strong regional variability. However, the carbon exchange dynamics across different wetland types and their controlling mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we quantified and compared CO 2 fluxes (gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (ER), and net ecosystem productivity (NEP)) among China’s wetland types using eddy covariance measurements, analyzing spatial patterns and controlling mechanisms. Coastal wetlands exhibited higher annual GPP, ER, and NEP compared with inland wetlands. Among all wetland types, mangrove ecosystems had the highest carbon uptake capacity. The carbon conversion efficiency (CCE) of inland wetlands (0.89 ± 0.24) was higher than that of coastal wetlands (0.66 ± 0.12), suggesting that inland wetlands are less efficient at carbon fixation than coastal wetlands. However, due to their larger total area than that of coastal wetlands, inland wetlands in China likely constitute a greater overall CO 2 sink. Spatially, GPP and NEP showed significant differences between the tropical/subtropical zones and the temperate/plateau zones ( p < 0.05), indicating the influence of climatic conditions. Climate factors influenced carbon fluxes primarily through their regulation of vegetation and soil features. The cascading relationships among climate, vegetation, and soil, as revealed by structural equation modeling (SEM), explained 61–71% of the spatial variation in GPP and ER, and 68% in NEP. Our findings provide valuable theoretical insights into the role of China’s wetland ecosystem in the global carbon cycle.

Keywords: wetlands; carbon fluxes; climate factors; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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