Carbon emissions induced by land-use and land-cover change from 1970 to 2010 in Zhejiang, China

Land-use and land-cover change (LUCC) is a crucial factor affecting carbon emissions. Zhejiang Province has witnessed unprecedented LUCC concomitant with rapid urbanization from 1970 to 2010. In this study, remote sensing, geographic information system (GIS) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) method were combined to quantify changes in both vegetation carbon storage and soil organic carbon (SOC) storage resulting from LUCC during 1970-1990 and 1990-2010. For both 1970-1990 and 1990-2010, the results showed successive decrease in farmlands (2.8 × 105 ha or -9.15% and 5.9 × 105 ha or -20.49%, respectively) and grasslands (3.4 × 104 ha or -10.73% and 1.5 × 105 ha or -54.1%, respectively), and continuous increase in forests (2.0 × 104 ha or 0.33% and 1.7 × 105 ha or 2.81%, respectively) and built-up lands (2.07 × 105 ha or 78.41% and 6.49 × 105 ha or 137.8%, respectively). From 1970 to 1990, approximately 8.3 Tg of the total carbon sink declined, including a 0.4 Tg reduction in vegetation carbon and a 7.9 Tg reduction in SOC. While from 1990 to 2010, approximately 17.5 Tg of carbon storage declined, comprising a 2.8 Tg of carbon accumulated by vegetation, and a 20.3 Tg reduction in SOC. Overall, LUCC has resulted in huge amount of carbon emissions in Zhejiang from 1970 to 2010. Efficient planning for LUCC and gradual mitigation of carbon emissions are indispensable for future urban development in China under increasing pressure from global warming.