How can territorial ecological restoration of counties be used to increase carbon sinks?

Climate change threatens natural ecosystems and socioeconomic systems, with carbon dioxide viewed as the main driving force. To promote ecological civilization construction and cope with global climate change, China first proposed the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals (“dual carbon” goals hereafter) in 2020 and addressed to integrate it into the overall plan of ecological civilization construction in 2021. However, most existing research focuses on larger scales of national, regional, or provincial, some focuses on cities or counties in developed regions, while little studies counties in western China, particularly the arid areas of northwest China.

An article entitled “Research on the Territorial Ecological Restoration of Counties for the Increase of Carbon Sinks—A Case Study of Wensu County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China”, which was published on the journal of Landscape Architecture Frontiers. Focusing on Wensu County in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China, the research evaluated current carbon sinks in the county, identified spatial pattern of these carbon sinks, and developed ecological restoration strategies according to different land use spatial patterns. Unlike those in the developed Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region and coastal southeast China, most counties in the arid areas of northwest China cover relatively larger areas with less development land and more ecologically vulnerable non-development land, where ecological restoration becomes a pressing task. This research aims to put forward ecological restoration approaches to increasing carbon sinks in the counties in the arid areas of northwest China, promoting the integration of “dual carbon” goals in territorial spatial planning and providing a referable paradigm for areas with similar geographical conditions. This paper discusses the following questions.

1) What is the spatial pattern of carbon sinks in Wensu County?

2) What are the territorial ecological restoration approaches to

increasing carbon sinks?

3) how do the findings of this research contribute to carbon sink management in the arid areas of northwest China and similar regions?

The research followed the framework of “current carbon sink evaluation–spatial pattern identification–restoration strategy development.” The research team first evaluated the carbon sequestration, carbon storage, and importance level of the current carbon sinks in Wensu County, then identified the spatial patterns of these carbon sinks. Lastly, based on the above analyses and approaches to increasing carbon sequestration and carbon sinks in existing studies, the research team proposed ecological restoration strategies for local land use spatial patterns.

According to the findings, carbon sequestration capacity varies across the county. The southern foothills of Tianshan Mountain, with an elevation of 2,000~3,000 m, have the best carbon sequestration capacity. The plain in the southern county and southern foothills of Tianshan Mountain have the largest carbon storage. Carbon sink importance level varies significantly across geographical environments of the county. That in the southern foothills of Tianshan Mountain and in the southern and southeastern plains of the county are grated higher than the others. Based on the carbon sink importance level evaluation, one primary, two secondary, and potential carbon sinks with a total area of 2,259.81 km² are identified. Eight ecological restoration strategies are proposed based on local conditions to achieve the main goal of boosting carbon sinks.

The framework of this research integrates carbon sink increase with other ecological restoration goals, and the findings contribute to the holistic preservation, restoration, and governance of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts. Moreover, carbon sink increase should be integrated with other ecological problems to emphasize the carbon problems in territorial ecological restoration and holistic maintenance.