Changes in Water Retention and Carbon Sequestration in the Huangshan UNESCO Global Geopark (China) from 2000 to 2015

Abstract

Geopark ecosystem function assessments form an essential knowledge base for natural resource conservation and sustainable development. In this study, we evaluated changes in water retention and carbon sequestration in forests in the Huangshan United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Global Geopark (HUGG), China, from 2000 to 2015. We analyzed the relationship between these ecosystem functions and various controlling factors. The ecosystem functions in HUGG experienced significant changes during the study period. Water retention function increased slightly (0.15 m3 hm−2 year−1), while carbon sequestration increased sharply (25.57 g C m−2 year−1), with both showing increased spatial homogenization. Increased precipitation significantly enhanced the water retention function, whereas a temperature increase had a positive effect on the carbon sequestration. Both water retention and carbon sequestration decreased significantly with increased tourist disturbance. Pearson’s correlation coefficient and variance partitioning analysis identified the climate factors and tourist disturbance controlling water retention and carbon sequestration, respectively. The fitted structural equation model showed that climate factors had a greater total impact on water retention than tourist disturbance, while the total impact of climate factors on carbon sequestration was far less than that due to tourist disturbance. This study untangled the relationship between ecosystem functions (water retention and carbon sequestration) and influential factors in the HUGG and clarified that climate factors and tourist disturbance were determinants of changes in these ecosystem functions. The results from this study provide scientific foundations for the sustainable management of natural ecosystems in the HUGG and other geoparks.

Spatial patterns and driving factors of carbon stocks in mangrove forests on Hainan Island, China

“…In addition, the digital elevation model (DEM) images of mangrove forests on Hainan Island were from the ASTER Global DEM Version 2 (GDEM V2) data set, which was downloaded from NASA (https://search.earthdata.nasa.gov/). Meteorological data for the past 10 years (2008–2018) used in this research were downloaded from the National Meteorological Information Centre of China (http://data.cma.cn/), and these data included the mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation (Gou et al, 2020).…”

Evaluation of the Carbon Sink Capacity of the Proposed Kunlun Mountain National Park

“…In addition, some studies evaluated the changes in water conservation and carbon sequestration in the Huangshan United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Global Geopark (HUGG) forest during 2000–2015. The relationship between these ecosystem functions and various control factors was analyzed, providing a scientific basis for the sustainable management of natural ecosystems in geoparks and other types of nature protected areas [ 16 ]. Especially for China, under the background of promoting the construction of high-quality national parks during global climate change, there is still a lack of systematic research on how the national parks can actively respond to climate change in planning and management.…”