Spatiotemporal Change and the Natural–Human Driving Processes of a Megacity’s Coastal Blue Carbon Storage

Abstract

Coastal blue carbon storage (CBCS) plays a key role in addressing global climate change and realizing regional carbon neutrality. Although blue carbon has been studied for some years, there is little understanding of the influence of a megacity’s complex natural and human-driven processes on CBCS. Taking the Shanghai coastal area as an example, this study investigated the spatiotemporal change in CBCS using the InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs) model during 1990–2015, and analyzed the response of the CBCS to a megacity’s complex natural- and human-driven processes through a land use/land cover transition matrix and hierarchical clustering. The results were as follows: (1) Thirty-three driving processes were identified in the study area, including four natural processes (e.g., accretion, succession, erosion, etc.), two human processes (reclamation and restoration) and twenty-seven natural–human coupled processes; they were further combined into single and multiple processes with positive and negative influences on the CBCS into four types (Mono+, Mono−, Multiple+ and Multiple− driving processes). (2) Shanghai’s CBCS increased from 1659.44 × 104 Mg to 1789.78 ×104 Mg, though the amount of Shanghai’s coastal carbon sequestration showed a decreasing trend in three periods: 51.28 × 104 Mg in 1990–2000, 42.90 × 104 Mg in 2000–2009 and 36.15 × 104 Mg in 2009–2015, respectively. (3) There were three kinds of spatiotemporal patterns in the CBCS of this study area: high adjacent to the territorial land, low adjacent to the offshore waters in 1990; high in the central part, low in the peripheral areas in 2009 and 2015; and a mixed pattern in 2000. These patterns resulted from the different driving processes present in the different years. This study could serve as a blueprint for restoring and maintaining the CBCS of a megacity, to help mitigate the conflicts between socioeconomic development and the conservation of the CBCS, especially in the Shanghai coastal area.

Exploring Spatiotemporal Variation of Carbon Storage Driven by Land Use Policy in the Yangtze River Delta Region

“…It affected the accuracy of land cover change-based results and policy links inference, though the map accuracy met the scientific criteria of the regional scale studies. In addition, an immediate change in carbon storage after LULC change is assumed in this study, though inevitable change in storage to a new steady state can take many decades [39]. In future studies, the spatiotemporal assessment of the relationships between multiple ecosystem services and natural causes and environmental policies in the YRD region also need to be further explored.…”

A better understanding of the role of new energy and green finance to help achieve carbon neutrality goals, with special reference to China

“… 31 , 32 Global primary energy is expected to peak at 15.6 billion tons of oil equivalent in 2030, with an average annual growth rate of 1.2%, of which coal accounts for 19%, oil for 28%, natural gas for 26% and new energy for 27%. 23 Oil demand is expected to slow down in 2025 and enter a stable period by 2030. Natural gas may become the only fossil energy source expected to maintain growth due to its low-carbon attributes.…”

“… 12 The carbon neutrality process will lead to an average annual green economy investment of over trillions of dollars from 2020–2060, providing significant new investment opportunities for the financial sector. 23 …”

“…21,22 Therefore, it is of great scientific and practical value to understand and play the role of new energy in the process of carbon neutrality compared to fossil energy. 23,24 What type of new energy is involved in this question? What is the role of new energy in the energy transition?…”

Assessing Ecological Vulnerability under Climate Change and Anthropogenic Influence in the Yangtze River Estuarine Island-Chongming Island, China

“…As important transition zones between land, freshwater habitats, and the sea, estuaries islands provide many essential ecosystem services [ 1 , 2 ] including coastal blue carbon storage [ 3 ], flood protection [ 4 ], nutrient cycling, fishery resources [ 1 ], and habitats for wildlife [ 5 ] as well as offer valuable cultural ecosystem services (e.g., recreation services to citizens for maintaining their mental and physical health) [ 6 , 7 ]. However, with climate change and intensive anthropogenic activities, estuarine islands have been influenced by global sea level rise, ecological structure, and land cover change [ 8 , 9 ], resulting in increasing risks of passive climax submergence, beach soil erosion, biological invasion, and saltwater intrusion [ 10 , 11 ].…”