Spatial–Temporal Heterogeneity and Driving Mechanisms of the Relationship Between Vegetation Carbon Sequestration and Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOC) Emissions in China

TL;DR

This study explores how plants in China both absorb carbon and emit pollutants, and how climate factors influence this balance.

Contribution

The paper introduces a new Biogenic Carbon Efficiency Index (BCEI) to quantify the dual role of vegetation in carbon sequestration and BVOC emissions.

Findings

The BCEI decreases from southeast to northwest China and declined over 78% of the country from 2001–2020.

Hydrothermal variables like temperature, precipitation, and soil moisture are key drivers of BCEI variability.

BCEI is negatively correlated with soil moisture and precipitation but positively correlated with evapotranspiration.

Abstract

Vegetation plays a dual role in the Earth’s climate system: it removes atmospheric CO2 through photosynthesis while emitting biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), which can weaken the net carbon sink and contribute to air pollution. To assess the long-term interplay between carbon uptake and BVOC emissions, and to clarify how vegetation characteristics and climate regulate this relationship, we developed a Biogenic Carbon Efficiency Index (BCEI). The BCEI integrates BVOC emissions with gross primary productivity (GPP) to quantify their spatial ratio, thereby capturing the concurrent “source” and “sink” attributes of vegetation. We characterize the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the BCEI across China and identify its dominant environmental drivers. The BCEI decreases from southeast to northwest, and during 2001–2020 exhibited a declining trend over 78% of the country, with increases mainly in Southwest China and on the Shandong and Liaodong Peninsulas. Driver analyses indicate that variables linked to hydrothermal conditions, including temperature, precipitation, evapotranspiration, and soil moisture, primarily control BCEI variability. Across most regions, the BCEI is negatively correlated with soil moisture and precipitation, positively correlated with evapotranspiration, and shows regionally varying associations with temperature. These findings deepen understanding of vegetation’s dual role as a source and sink and its driving mechanisms, providing a theoretical basis for optimizing regional vegetation management strategies.

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