Fang Jingyun and collaborators from the School of Urban and Environmental Sciences systematically sort out the research on carbon sinks in terrestrial ecosystems to help achieve the goal of "carbon neutrality"

"Carbon neutrality" refers to the balance between carbon emissions caused by fossil fuel use and land use changes and various carbon uptake, including ecosystem carbon sinks, carbon capture and storage, etc.

In order to systematically understand the characteristics of terrestrial carbon sinks and their contribution to achieving the goal of "carbon neutrality", SCIENCE CHINA Life Sciences ("China Science: Life Sciences") recently published an online report led by Academician Fang Jingyun from the School of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Estimation of carbon sinks in China's terrestrial ecosystems based on different methods

Starting from the debate on terrestrial carbon sources and carbon sinks that appeared in the 1970s, based on a methodological perspective, this review reviews the research history of carbon sources and sinks in terrestrial ecosystems, focusing on ground surveys, flux observations, atmospheric monitoring and inversion, The application progress of various methods such as model simulation in the assessment of terrestrial carbon sources and sinks

In short, the review systematically summarizes the characteristics of carbon sources and sinks in China and the global terrestrial ecosystem and its contribution to the realization of the goal of "carbon neutrality", which can provide scientific and technological guidance for China to achieve the strategic goal of "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality"