Methane and nitrous oxide budget for Chinese natural terrestrial ecosystems

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Climate Science
• Ecology

Background:

• China's natural terrestrial ecosystems (NTEs) are crucial regulators of methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O), potent greenhouse gases.
• Accurate inventories of these gases are vital for understanding climate change impacts and developing mitigation strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and synthesize existing methane and nitrous oxide inventories for China's NTEs.
• To compile a new integrated inventory and evaluate the global warming potential (GWP) of CH₄ and N₂O emissions from 1980-2020.
• To identify knowledge gaps and propose recommendations for future research and policy.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of site-specific extrapolations and modeling studies.
• Compilation of a novel CH₄ and N₂O inventory using multi-model approaches.
• Assessment of integrated GWP considering land-use and climate change impacts.

Main Results:

• Significant spatiotemporal variations in CH₄ and N₂O emissions from China's NTEs were identified.
• Large uncertainties persist due to model limitations and data inconsistencies.
• The study provides an updated GWP assessment for CH₄ and N₂O over four decades.

Conclusions:

• Addressing data gaps and improving modeling techniques are crucial for accurate greenhouse gas inventories.
• Understanding the long-term impacts of land-use and climate change on CH₄ and N₂O fluxes is essential.
• Recommendations are provided to enhance carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from China's NTEs.