Coupling process of carbon sink service flow based on metacoupling framework

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Environmental Science
• Sustainability Science

Background:

• Carbon sink service (CSS) is critical for global warming mitigation and understanding human-ecosystem interactions.
• Quantifying the supply, flow, and demand of CSS within composite ecosystems (CEMRFFLG) is essential for sustainable development.
• Understanding carbon sink service flows (CSSFs) in complex ecosystems remains a significant research challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the CSS supply and demand in Chongqing's composite ecosystem (CEMRFFLG).
• To explore the coupling mechanisms of CSSF among water, forest, farmland, and grassland subsystems.
• To reveal the flow mechanisms of CSSF through multi-scenario simulations.

Main Methods:

• Quantification of CSS supply and demand.
• Application of the breakpoint model and metacoupling framework to analyze CSSF coupling.
• Multi-scenario simulation for CSSF flow mechanism analysis.

Main Results:

• Net primary productivity (NPP) is primarily generated by forests, while carbon emissions (CEs) are mainly from farmlands.
• The forest subsystem exhibits the highest total value in both outflow (35.51%) and inflow (61.24%) during telecoupling.
• Carbon sink service flows predominantly move from forested areas to regions with significant human activity.

Conclusions:

• The study provides crucial insights into the dynamics of carbon sink service flows within complex ecosystems.
• Optimization suggestions for CSSF in Chongqing are proposed, aiding sustainable development.
• Understanding these flows is vital for managing complex ecosystems and achieving sustainability goals.