Impact of Land Use Change on Vegetation Carbon Storage During Rapid Urbanization:A Case Study of Hangzhou,China

Land use changes have significant impacts on the carbon balance in an urban ecosystem.When there is rapid development in urbanizing regions,land use changes have a dramatic effect on vegetation carbon storage(VCS).This study investigates the impact of land use change on VCS in a period of rapid urbanization in Hangzhou,China.The results show that:1)from 2000 to 2015,land use in Hangzhou underwent huge changes,mainly reflected in decrease in cropland and wetland and the increased settlement.More than 34.58%of the land was transformed,and the land use changes are primarily characterized by a significant decrease in cropland due to the occupation by settlement.2)over the 15 years,changes in land use led to a decrease of 3.93×10^(5) t of VCS in the urban ecosystem.The large-scale transformation of cropland and wetland,which have a comparatively high carbon density,into land for settlement exerted a negative impact on VCS.3)The central city,which with the Circle-E/I/O mode,had the lowest comprehensive land use dynamic degree,leading to moderate land use change and an increase in VCS;Yuhang and Xiaoshan,which with Multicore-E/O/I mode and Fan-E/O/I modes,had a higher comprehensive land use dynamic degree,drastic changes in land use,and a decrease in VCS.This study proposes a reliable method of estimating changes in VCS,clarifies the relationship between land use change and VCS during rapid urbanization,and provides recommendations for sustainable urban development.