A Review of Ecosystem Carbon Sink

This study analyzes recent domestic and international research on ecosystem carbon sinks, focusing on five types of ecosystems: forests, grasslands, wetlands, desert shrubs, and farmland. The results show that: (1) Current ecosystem carbon sink studies are framed within the context of climate change, primarily focusing on the impact of climate change on ecosystem carbon sinks. Key areas of research include carbon sink accounting, improved management, enhancing carbon sink levels, and promoting carbon sink circulation. ( 2) Ecosystem carbon sinks include three components: aboveground vegetation, underground root systems, and soil carbon sinks. Forest carbon sinks are primarily found in the aboveground vegetation, grassland carbon sinks are mainly in the soil and root systems, wetland and desert shrub carbon sinks are mainly in the soil, and soil carbon sinks largely depend on the photosynthesis of crops. (3) The factors influencing ecosystem carbon sinks include natural factors, human factors, and uncontrollable factors. Natural factors include topography, soil, sunlight, temperature, and precipitation; human factors include policies, regulations, decisions, and management practices; uncontrollable factors include natural disasters, pests, and diseases. (4) Ecosystem carbon sink accounting methods can be divided into two categories: direct measurement and model simulation. Direct measurement is more practical and suitable for small-scale carbon sink accounting, but differences in sampling areas, sampling time, sample sizes, and processing methods may result in discrepancies in the accounting results. Model simulation is more convenient and suitable for large-scale carbon sink accounting, but discrepancies in results can occur due to variations in model accuracy. Future study should explore ways to improve the accuracy of carbon sink accounting, establish more widely applicable and convenient accounting systems, and promote carbon sink circulation. Future policies should reasonably strengthen ecological protection, establish a sound reward and punishment system, and enhance ecosystem carbon sink levels.