Spatial and temporal patterns of CO2 and CH4 fluxes in China’s croplands in response to multifactor environmental changes

The spatial and temporal patterns of CO₂ and CH₄ fluxes in China’s croplands were investigated and attributed to multifactor environmental changes using the agricultural module of the Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model (DLEM), a highly integrated process-based ecosystem model. During 1980-2005 modelled results indicated that China’s croplands acted as a carbon sink with an average carbon sequestration rate of 33.4 TgC yr^-1 (1 Tg = 10¹² g). Both the highest net CO₂ uptake rate and the largest CH₄ emission rate were found in southeast region of China’s croplands. Of primary influences were land-cover and land-use change, atmospheric CO₂ and nitrogen deposition, which accounted for 76%, 42% and 17% of the total carbon sequestration in China’s croplands during the study period, respectively. The total carbon losses due to elevated ozone and climate variability/change were equivalent to 27% and 9% of the total carbon sequestration, respectively. Our further analysis indicated that nitrogen fertilizer application accounted for 60% of total national carbon uptake in cropland, whereas changes in paddy field areas mainly determined the variability of CH₄ emissions. Our results suggest that improving air quality by means such as reducing ozone concentration and optimizing agronomic practices can enhance carbon sequestration capacity of China’s croplands.