Carbon sequestration by forestation across China: Past, present, and future

Plantation forests are the most effective and ecologically friendly way of absorbing CO2 and increasing carbon sinks in terrestrial ecosystems; mitigating global warming and beginning ecological restoration. Chinaʹs forestation rate is the highest in the world, and contributes significantly to the nationʹs carbon sequestration. We have applied empirical growth curves, scale transformations, field sampling plots, and forest inventory data, to our carbon estimation model, to analyze the carbon sequestration in living biomass and soil organic carbon pools in past and current plantations. Furthermore, the potential carbon sinks of future plantations, 2010–2050, have been simulated. From 1950 to the present, plantations in China sequestered 1.686 Pg C by net uptake into biomass and emissions of soil organic carbon. The carbon stock of Chinaʹs present plantations was 7.894 Pg C, including 21.4% of the total sequestration as forest biomass and 78.6% as SOC. We project that Chinaʹs forestation activities will continue to net sequester carbon to a level of 3.169 Pg C by 2050, and that carbon stock in plantations will amount to 10.395 Pg C. Spatial patterns of carbon sequestration were dissimilar to those of planting area. On the basis of area, carbon sequestrations were highest in North China, while changes were generally greatest in the Northeast and Southwest regions.