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Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology ›› 2026, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (5): 1559-1569.doi: 10.13287/j.1001-9332.202605.019

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Spatiotemporal variations and influencing factors for vegetation carbon sequestration in arid and humid zones of China during 2001 to 2020.

LI Ludan1, LIU Yanyan1,2*, FENG Haopeng1,3, KANG Ping1,2, SHEN Yuan1, QIN Wenshuang1, Klaus SCHAEFER1,2, YUAN Dengpan1   

  1. 1Climate Change and Resource Utilization in Complex Terrain Regions Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, School of Atmospheric Sciences, Chengdu University of Information Technology, Chengdu 610225, China;
    2Chengdu Plain Urban Meteorology and Environment Observation and Research Station of Sichuan Province, Chengdu 610225, China;
    3Aviation Meteorological Center Air Traffic Management Bureau, Civil Aviation Administration of China, Beijing 100122, China
  • Received:2026-01-04 Accepted:2026-04-12 Online:2026-05-18 Published:2026-11-18

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Abstract: Against the backdrop of global climate change, clarifying the spatiotemporal variations and driving mechanisms of vegetation carbon sequestration capacity across different arid and humid zones is a key scientific issue for formulating strategies for regional ecological restoration and carbon sink maintenance. Based on net primary productivity (NPP) data of China from 2001 to 2020, we analyzed the spatiotemporal variations and quantitatively evaluated the relative contributions of meteorological factors and human activities. The results showed that the multi-year average NPP across different arid and humid zones followed the order of humid zone (455.06 g C·m-2) > subhumid zone (442.33 g C·m-2) > subarid zone (342.93 g C·m-2) > arid zone (171.40 g C·m-2). The annual average NPP of all zones showed an increasing trend over time, with the subarid zone having the largest annual growth rate (1.38 g C·m-2·a-1) and the subhumid zone the smallest (0.09 g C·m-2·a-1). The proportions of areas with significantly improved NPP in the arid and subarid zones were 18.1% and 30.7%, respectively, while the proportions of areas with significantly degraded NPP in the humid and subhumid zones were 13.8% and 12.3%, respectively. The driving contributions of meteorological factors and human activities to the increases and decreases of NPP exhibited significant spatial heterogeneity. Radiation exhibited a negative contribution to NPP changes in humid, subhumid and subarid zones, with contribution rates of -46.5%, -47.9% and -18.5%, respectively. Precipitation exhibited a positive contribution to NPP changes in the arid and subarid zones (with contribution rates of 79.5% and 43.4%, respectively). Temperature exhibited a relatively weak impact on the increases and decreases of NPP across different arid and humid zones (with contribution rates only ranging from 0 to 0.7%). Human activities exerted a positive contribution to NPP changes in subarid, subhumid and humid zones, with contribution rates of 38.0%, 43.3% and 36.6%, respectively, while showing a negative contribution in arid regions, with contribution rate of -5.0%.

Key words: net primary productivity (NPP), arid and humid zones, spatiotemporal differentiation characteristics, quantitative contribution assessment