Ecosystem management: Realizing carbon neutrality requires "natural solutions"

China Network/China Development Portal News In the middle of the 21st century, the net zero -emissions of carbon dioxide was realized, maintaining the global temperature increase within 2 ° C. It is related to the sustainable development of human society. It is a common challenge facing countries around the world. China takes the responsibility of building a community of human destiny as its own responsibility, and has made a commitment to the world's "carbon Dafeng" and "carbon neutrality" in 2060 in 2030. Under the long -term goal of carbon and long -term goals, the role of "natural solutions" in responding to climate change will become more and more significant. Protecting, restoring and optimizing the management of ecosystems such as forests, grasslands, wetlands and farmland can improve ecological functions and increase net carbon exchange to offset carbon emissions from industrial and transportation departments and achieve carbon neutrality. Therefore, strengthening natural climate solutions will have an important role in renewing and strengthening the country's autonomous contribution to my country, strengthening the country's autonomous contribution, and achieving carbon peaks and carbon neutrality.

On August 18, 2022, Academician Fu Boje's team of the Ecological Environment Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences published a paper entitled "BIOPHYSICAL and Economic Constraints on China's Nature Solutions" online. Management contributes to slowing climate change.

The research team adopts documents, natural resources inspections, public database and policy documents, and evaluates 16 ecosystem management methods in China (ie, 16 NCS paths, including afforestation and rectification, natural forests and artificial forest management, grassland recovery and grazing management The climate change ability of nitrogen fertilizer management, rice field drainage management, wetland recovery, etc.) is slowed down. Through a systematic assessment of the scope, scale, speed, and efficiency of ecological engineering and measures in the past 20 years (2000-2020), the ecosystem of the next 10 years (2020-2030) and the next 40 years (2020-2060) ecosystems The largest scale that can be implemented by various paths (considering the restrictions such as farmland red lines, tree survival rates and other restrictions) and its slowdown potential, and estimate the proportion of maximum relief potential that can be achieved in different cost thresholds.

Studies have shown that from 2000 to 2020, the additional climate slowing capacity obtained by the nine measures implemented by ecosystem management was 0.6 PG carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2E) per year, accounting for 8%of the average volume of the industrial CO2 annual discharge in the same period. Based on the setting of the future scenario of ecosystem management, from 2020 to 2030, the maximum potential of ecosystem management will obtain a slowdown in climate change is 0.6 PG CO2E per year, which is 6%of the average volume of the 2nd annual release of the industry CO2 (assume that the industrial industry in 2030 in 2030 The emission volume is 10-12 PG CO2); plus the ecosystem management measures implemented before 2020, the carbon solidarity benefits (that is, the benefits of the remaining) during this period can reach 1.2 PG CO2E, and the proportion reaches 11% - 12%. From 2020 to 2060, the maximum potential of ecosystem management will obtain a slowdown in climate change is 1.0 PG CO2E per year, plus the remaining benefits before 2020, the total amount can reach 1.6 PG CO2E. According to marginal emission reduction cost curves, it is estimated that the total potential of 26%-31%, 62%-65%, and 90%-91%can be achieved within the cost line of about $ 10, $ 50 and $ 100 per ton of CO2E, respectively.

From the perspective of national standards, before 2020, the main content of ecosystem management is to restore and improve management. In the next decades, the space for ecological recovery has gradually reduced, and the ecosystem's carbon solidarity must be discovered from improving management and protection. Due to the regional heterogeneity, the characteristics of the ecosystem, the characteristics of the ecosystem, and the level of management, the total potential of the maximum extra potential and its path composition are largely different from the provinces (Figure 1). Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Sichuan and Yunnan are the four provinces with the highest potential of history and future. Except for some provinces in the north and east of my country, natural forest management and afforestation contribute the most. For Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Tibet, grassland grazing optimization has contributed the greatest contribution to the slowdown of history. In the next decades, wetland, especially peat land management, will also be a very important way to increase exchange. In some provinces (including Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangxi and Jiangsu) in central and east my country, farmland nutrient management and improvement of rice planting have huge potential, and it is indispensable for improving carbon in Guangxi to improve the management of artificial forest management Ignore.

Figure 1 The historical relief ability and future NCS potential of 16 NCS paths in various provinces in China

The three values ​​of each provincial form figure represent the total number of NCS (TGCO2E YR-1) and its path composition, respectively.

The management of ecosystems is of great significance to alleviate China's climate change. Studies suggest that in order to maximize the potential and wider environmental benefits of NCS, multi -level governance strategies need to be formulated to reflect regional differences in different NCS pathways. Ensuring the overall investment of ecosystem management and the benefits of increasing the area of ​​the unit's land are equally important. Due to the richness of natural resources and limited economic capital, we should avoid blindly expanding the area of ​​afforestation, sealing grass or reclamation of farmland, effectively protecting the existing ecosystem, and seeking new diversified management paths from technological innovation, a multi -path collaborative increase in collaborative increases effect. "Natural Climate Change" published a research news on the same period for this article. Professor Ronnie Drever, the Canadian Nature Federation, commented on the study and "discussed an interesting topic to deal with climate change. It is important. Given that China's importance on the global stage and the scale of relief potential determined in the dissertation, this theme is of profound significance for the science of the "Natural Climate Solutions", which is still young, which is still young. "

The editorial team of "Natural Climate Change" commented: "This paper provides China's carbon absorption and greenhouse gas emission potential evaluation based on the national level of natural climate solutions. NCS assessment. Given the world's interest in achieving its climate relief in China, this research is very important. "

Associate Researcher Lu Nan, an associate researcher at the National Key Laboratory of the Ecological Environment Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is the first author of the paper, and Academician Fu Boje is a communications author. The thesis collaborators include Professor Oben University, Professor Park Shilong, Peking University, French CEA-CNRS-UVSQ Climate and Environmental Science Laboratory, Professor Philippe Ciais, Professor Pete Smith, Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences in the University of Aberdeen, and Ecology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Yu Huiqian, Li Ya, Li Xiaoyong, Wang Mengyu, Master student Zhang Lu, Zhang Lu, and the doctoral student of the Department of Geographical Sciences of Beijing Normal University, Chen Shiyin, and Master Student Li Zidong. The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Key R & D Program. (Supply of the "Chinese Academy of Sciences")

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