Page 103 - JCAU-6-3

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Influence of land-use change on carbon storage

of all jurisdictions showed a trend of small-scale expansion by 10.883 × 10 tons and the carbon storage of cultivated
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to the periphery (Figure 3B and D), representing 72% of the land decreasing most significantly by 17.969 × 10 tons.
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total area of cultivated land in the city for development land From 2015 to 2020, the total carbon storage in the city
(Table 5). This trend reflects the impact of Chengdu’s urban decreased by 12.231 × 10 tons, primarily due to the
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development strategy on its land-use pattern. According to significant reduction in cultivated land, which decreased
the new development strategy, the eastern part of Chengdu by 23.725 × 10 tons (Figure 4).
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would develop advanced manufacturing, the southern part In general, changes in cultivated land, forest, and
would form a high-tech industrial cluster, and the northern construction land were the main factors affecting the
part would develop an export-oriented economy, achieving change in carbon storage in Chengdu. The rapid expansion
urban renewal relying on railway advantages.
of land with low carbon sequestration capacity, such
The conversion of cultivated land to forest mainly as construction land, was the main factor leading to the
occurred in Pengzhou, Dujiangyan, Pujiang, and Dayi in decrease in total carbon storage in Chengdu, despite an
the western part and Longquanyi district in the eastern part, increase in the conversion area of grassland and wetland.
accounting for 89% (Figure 3B and C). The conversion of
construction land to cultivated land was mainly distributed The main land-use types in Chengdu impacting carbon
in the western part, about 14,404.18 ha (Figure 3D). The storage dynamics included cultivated land, forest, and
development strategy of the eastern part of Chengdu construction land. The transformation of construction
has changed the overall spatial layout of the city, making land to cultivated land (10,172,500 tons), grassland to
the Longquan Mountain Range the central green axis of forest (4,858,710 tons), and cultivated land to forest
the city. In addition, the core of the development strategy (4,025,000 tons) accounted for a large portion of the
in the western part is to build high-standard farmland, increase in carbon storage between 2010 and 2020. On
protect the natural and cultural landscape, strengthen the other hand, the conversion of forest to grassland
the urban ecological basis, and ensure the sustainable (49,428,000 tons), cultivated land to construction
development of the city, which requires a substantial land (27,468,000 tons), and forest to cultivated land
increase in afforestation and vegetation coverage. Return (3,992,500 tons) was primarily responsible for the
the forest to farming has become an inevitable choice. It is decrease in carbon storage. Despite the increase in the
worth noting that in the southern part of the eastern region, area transformed from grassland and other types of land,
due to the construction and expansion of the Sancha Lake the total carbon storage in Chengdu decreased overall,
wetland, a large area of forest has been transformed into a predominantly due to the rapid expansion of land with low
wetland (Figure 3C). carbon sequestration capacity (Figure 4).
3.4. Carbon storage changes 3.5. Spatial distribution pattern of carbon storage,
sources, and sinks
The total carbon storage of Chengdu in 2010, 2015, and
2020 was 1,265.846 × 10 tons, 1,257.765 × 10 tons, and Carbon storage in Chengdu was higher in the western part
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1,245.534 × 10 tons, respectively (Table 6). Changes in than that in the eastern part and higher in the surrounding
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cultivated land carbon storage accounted for about 60% counties compared to the central city (Figure 5). In the
of the total change in carbon storage in the city, due to central part of Chengdu, carbon storage gradually increased
the high carbon sequestration capacity and large area from the central area to the periphery. The Longmen
of cultivated land. From 2010 to 2015, the city’s total Mountains and Longquan Mountains had higher carbon
carbon storage in the city decreased by 8.080 × 10 tons, storage than other areas, indicating that the intensity of
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with the carbon storage of construction land increasing human activities significantly affects carbon storage.

Table 5. Land‑use transfer (ha) in different parts of Chengdu from 2010 to 2020
Land‑use transfer type Eastern region Western region Southern region Northern region Central region
Cultivated land–construction land 14,774.51 26,448.65 15,572.62 9,144.17 2,438.285
Construction land–cultivated land 3,163.964 14,404.18 4,323.232 2,547.972 881.5143
Cultivated land–forest 7,669.939 12,306.26 1,503.07 1,475.986 -
Forest–cultivated land 7,755.968 11,903.42 1,519.011 1,599.991 -
Forest–construction land - - - - 251.1825
Grassland–construction land - - - - 137.9243

Volume 6 Issue 3 (2024) 7 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.3069