Articlehttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-48546-0CarbonstoragethroughChina’splantedforestexpansionKaiCheng1,2,9,HaitaoYang1,9,ShengliTao2,YanjunSu3,4,HongcanGuan5,YuRen1,2,TianyuHu3,4,WenkaiLi6,GuangcaiXu7,MengxiChen1,XianchengLu1,ZekunYang1,YanhongTang2,KepingMa3,4,JingyunFang2,8&QinghuaGuo1,2China’sextensiveplantedforestsplayacrucialroleincarbonstorage,vitalforclimatechangemitigation.However,thecomplexspatiotemporaldynamicsofChina’splantedforestareaanditscarbonstorageremainuncaptured.HerewerevealsuchchangesinChina’splantedforestsfrom1990to2020usingsatelliteandfielddata.Resultsshowadoublingofplantedforestarea,atrendthatintensifiedpost-2000.ThesechangesleadtoChina’splantedforestcar-bonstorageincreasingfrom675.6±12.5TgCin1990to1,873.1±16.2TgCin2020,withanaveragerateof~40TgCyr−1.Theareaexpansionofplantedforestscontributed~53%(637.2±5.4TgC)ofthetotalaboveincreasedcarbonstorageinplantedforestscomparedwithplantedforestgrowth.Thisproac-tivepolicy-drivenexpansionofplantedforestshascatalyzedaswiftincreaseincarbonstorage,aligningwithChina’sCarbonNeutralityTargetfor2060.Forestsfunctionasimportantcarbon(C)sinks1–6andofferanaturalsolutiontoaddressclimatechangeandecologicalissues7–9.TheexpansionofplantedforestareasisconsideredaneffectivesolutiontoachievethemainobjectivesoftheUN’sGlobalForestGoalsundercontinuousdecreaseinnaturalforestarea10.However,thedecreaseinnaturalforestareaoutweighstheincreaseinplantedforestarea,resultinginaglobalnetdeclineofforestareaby178millionhaandareductionintheglobalforestCstockfrom668Petagram(Pg)to662Pgbetween1990and202011.Achievingthegoalsofthe2030Agenda12reliesoncrediblemonitoringandverificationoftheCstorageofplantedforests.Thistaskneedstotakeintoaccountlandspatio-temporaldynamicsandforesttypes,distinguishingbetweenplantedandnaturalforestsduetodifferentspeciescomposition,standstruc-ture,age,andmanagementcontext13–16.InChina,whichhastheworld’slargestplantedforestarea,accountingforover1/4ofglobalplantedforestarea17,acomprehensiveanalysisofitsplantedforestsCstorageneedsinvestigation.China’sachievementinexpandingplantedforestareaisaremarkableaccomplishmentbothdomesticallyandintheglobalcontext18.Despitethisglobalreductionofforestarea,China’splantedforestareaexpansionhasmadesignificantcontributionstoincreasingChina’sforestareaforseveralconsecutiveyears19,20.Asof2020,Chi-na’sforestareareachedapproximately220millionha,accountingfor5%oftheworld’sforestarea11.Thisexpansionisaresultofconductedgovernmenteffortstoconvertcroplands,shrublands,andgrasslandsintoplantedforests17,18,21,22.ThisefforttogrowtheplantedforestareanotonlyincreasedChina’stotalforestextentbutalsoresultedindrasticchangesinlanduseandlandcover(LULC),impactingChina’sforestsCstoragecapacity5,11,23–26.BasedontheNationalForestMan-agementPlan(2016–2050),China’sforestareawillcontinuetoaccountfor~26%ofChina’stotallandareaby2050,requiringanadditionalconversionofover2.8millionhafromotherLULCtoforests20.Thishashighlightedtheurgentneedforaccuratelyquanti-fyingthespatiotemporaldynamicsofplantedforestconversionfromReceived:15August2023Accepted:3May2024Checkforupdates1InstituteofRemoteSensingandGeographicInformationSystem,SchoolofEarthandSpaceSciences,PekingUniversity,Beijing100871,China.2InstituteofEcology,CollegeofUrbanandEnvironmentalSciences,PekingUniversity,Beijing100871,China.3State...
