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Article

Long-Term Carbon Sequestration and Climatic Responses of Plantation Forests Across Jiangsu Province, China

by
Yuxue Cui
,
Miaomiao Wu
,
Zhongyi Lin
,
Yizhao Chen
* and
Honghua Ruan
College of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Forests 2025, 16(5), 756; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16050756 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 19 March 2025 / Revised: 23 April 2025 / Accepted: 25 April 2025 / Published: 28 April 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Forest Ecology and Management)
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Abstract

:
Plantation forests (PFs) play a crucial role in China’s climate change mitigation strategy due to their significant capacity to sequestrate carbon (C). Understanding the long-term trend in PFs’ C uptake capacity and the key drivers influencing it is crucial for optimizing PF management and planning for climate mitigation. In this study, we quantified the long-term (1981–2019) C sequestration of PFs in Jiangsu Province, where PFs have expanded considerably in recent decades, particularly since 2015. Seasonal and interannual variations in gross primary productivity (GPP), net primary productivity (NPP), and net ecosystem productivity (NEP) were assessed using the boreal ecosystem productivity simulator (BEPS), a process-based terrestrial biogeochemical model. The model integrates multiple sources of remote-sensing datasets, such as leaf area index and land cover data, to simulate the critical biogeochemical processes governing land surface dynamics, enabling the quantification of vegetation and soil C stocks and nutrient cycling patterns. The results indicated a significant increasing trend in GPP, NPP, and NEP over the past four decades, suggesting enhanced C sequestration by PFs across the study region. The interannual variability in these indicators was associated with that of nitrogen (N) deposition in recent years, implying that nutrient availability could be a limiting factor for plantation productivity. Seasonal GPP and NPP exhibited peak values in spring (April to May) or late summer (August to September), with increases in growing season productivity in recent years. In contrast, NEP peaked in spring (April to May) but declined to negative values in early summer (July to August), indicating a seasonal C source–sink transition. All three indicators showed a general negative correlation with late-growing-season temperature (August to September), suggesting that summer droughts probably highly constrained the C sequestration of the existing PFs. These findings provide insights for the strategic implementation and management of PFs, particularly in regions with a warm temperate climate undergoing afforestation expansion.

1. Introduction

The expansion of plantation forests (PFs) provides new sources of terrestrial carbon (C) uptake, serving as a crucial nature-based solution for mitigating climate warming [1,2,3]. The effective implementation and management of PFs can significantly enhance the C sequestration capacity of terrestrial ecosystems [4,5,6].
With the increasing attention and investment from the national government in forestry ecological construction, the area of PFs in China has been continuously growing, occupying an important position in global plantation development [7]. Multiple studies have suggested the beneficial effect of PFs in terms of increasing terrestrial C sequestration. From 2001 to 2010, China’s major reforestation programs led to a sequestration of approximately 132 Tg of C per year [8]. The surge in PF area has translated into substantial gains in biomass C storage, resulting in a substantial increase in the aboveground C stock from 675.6 ± 12.5 Tg C to 1873.1 ± 16.2 Tg C from 1990 to 2020 [9]. A model prediction estimates that if China continues its existing planting trajectory, the national forest C sinks could reach ~0.35 Gt C per year by 2060—enough to offset about 43% of the country’s projected fossil fuel CO2 emissions [10]. Specifically for Jiangsu Province, there has been a forest biomass C storage increase of 20.3 Tg from 2005 to 2010, based on forest inventory datasets [11]. By 2010, over 81% of the province’s new C sequestration came from arbor (timber) plantations [12], indicating that PFs are the primary drivers of increasing C uptake across this region. However, some studies have also warned that the improper implementation of plantations can have detrimental effects on the local ecosystems. For example, the prevalent practice of clear-cut harvesting and replanting in monocultures (such as Chinese fir Cunninghamia lanceolata plantations) has led to a decline in soil nutrients, increased pest pressures, and overall soil degradation in many areas [13]. These soil fertility losses not only threaten long-term forest health but can also reduce the C sequestration capacity of PFs by limiting tree growth. Moreover, PFs generally consume more water than natural local vegetation, which can diminish streamflow and groundwater recharge in afforested catchments. Nationwide analyses revealed that China’s PFs use about 7% more water than natural forests on average, and this difference widens in drier regions [14]. In water-limited northern and western China, extensive afforestation has been linked to significant reductions in water yield and therefore the persistent C sequestration of PFs remains uncertain [14]. Therefore, a long-term assessment of the regional C sequestration of PFs will aid in clarifying whether the existing afforestation strategy is effective for climate mitigation in the future.
In contrast to natural forests, plantation forests are often established with the consideration of specific purposes based on human needs. In turn, PFs often differ markedly from those native plant communities in their relationship with the associated environment. Comparative studies in China have found that PFs are generally more vulnerable to environmental stresses like drought than the local species. Using two decades of satellite observations, Ma et al. (2025) showed that PFs exhibited significantly lower drought resistance and resilience compared to the nearby natural forests [15]. Camarero et al. (2021) compared the radial growth of six conifer species in natural and planted stands under seasonal drought conditions. They found that tree growth in PFs was more severely constrained during drought [16]. Cao et al. (2021) conducted a comparison between the natural and PFs of Pinus massoniana and Cunninghamia lanceolata in Fujian province, China, and found that the PFs of Cunninghamia lanceolata were more vulnerable to frequent extreme drought events [17]. A data synthesis further revealed that PFs exhibited both a higher proportion of belowground biomass and a greater sensitivity of belowground biomass responses to climatic factors compared to natural forests [18]. Moreover, the “yield decline” phenomenon in successive rotations of fast-growing species of PFs was widely observed. For example, a study on Chinese fir PFs indicated that tree growth dropped in second and third rotations, primarily due to the cumulative depletion of soil nutrients (exacerbated by practices like the post-harvest burning of residues) under short rotation cycles [19]. As soil fertility wanes and each replanting faces more competition from understory regrowth, plantations can shift toward lower productivity states over time [20,21]. In addition, PFs also tend to be more uniform in age and species, which can make them susceptible to pests and diseases and can limit their overall ecosystem functions compared to the complexity of old-growth forests [22,23]. Therefore, understanding the response of plantation forests to main environmental factors will facilitate the future implementation and management of plantations for more effective C uptake.
In this study, we investigated the long-term variations in the C sequestration of PFs in Jiangsu Province, China, which is a typical agricultural region but with intensive PF development during the past decades [24]. We first assessed changes in PF areas during 1990–2020 across the study region. Then, we quantified both seasonal and interannual variations in the GPP, NPP, and NEP of PFs using a dataset based on the boreal ecosystem productivity simulator (BEPS), a remote sensing-based terrestrial biogeochemical model during 1981–2019. Here, we assumed that PFs’ spatial extension in the study region remained stable during the 1980s for the analysis, based on the official reports on forestry resources and developments [25,26]. Finally, we explored the main drivers of the variations in those indices by investigating their relationship with temperature and precipitation. We aimed to evaluate the contributions and the long-term trend of PFs and understand the potential environmental drivers for the future planning and management of PFs.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Study Region

Jiangsu Province, located in southeastern China (116°22′–121°56′ E, 30°46′–35°07′ N), features a transitional climate between warm–temperate and subtropical zones. The annual mean temperature and rainfall across the region are 13–16 °C and 800–1200 mm, respectively. The province has experienced intensive agricultural development in its history, but with a trend of an increasing development of PFs during recent decades, primarily driven by government-led ecological restoration initiatives [27,28]. According to the recent provincial forestry statistics, the total forest coverage of Jiangsu is 15.2% of its total land area, with PFs constituting the majority. The main species in PFs across the region is poplar plantations, accounting for approximately 70% of the total PF area [29].

2.2. Datasets

2.2.1. Map of Plantation Forests

We applied the PF map from Cheng et al. (2023) [30] to investigate the variation in PF area in Jiangsu Province. The map was generated by integrating multi-source remote sensing data, including Landsat-5/7/8 time-series spectral imagery, Sentinel-1 radar imagery, a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and Chinese Forest Canopy Height data. The temporal extension of the dataset was from 1990 to 2020. The spatial resolution was 1 km.

2.2.2. The C Sequestration Indicators

In this study, BEPS was employed to estimate the C sequestration capacity of plantation forests in Jiangsu Province, China. We applied the GPP, NPP, and NEP datasets based on BEPS from He et al. (2021) [31], Chen et al. (2019) [32], Liu et al. (2014) [33]. The spatial resolution was 8 km and the temporal extension was from 1981 to 2019 with a monthly step.
BEPS is a remote sensing-based terrestrial biogeochemical model that simulates key biogeochemical and biogeophysical processes over various terrestrial ecosystems. BEPS model divides the vegetation canopy into sunlit and shaded leaves and applies the Farquhar model to simulate forest gross primary productivity (GPP). Based on the GPP simulation, the net primary productivity (NPP) is calculated by subtracting autotrophic respiration from the GPP. The CENTURY model is used to simulate heterotrophic respiration, and net ecosystem productivity (NEP) is calculated by subtracting heterotrophic respiration from the NPP. Detailed model descriptions have been well-articulated in previous studies [34,35,36].
The model has long been applied to quantify regional and global key C and hydrological variables and processes [34,37,38]. It has been well-tuned and validated for Chinese forests [39,40,41,42,43].
Detailed information of the model inputs and setup can be found in Ju et al. [44].

2.2.3. Nitrogen (N) Deposition Dataset

The database of atmospheric N deposition fluxes is from Gao et al. (2023) [45], with a spatial resolution of 0.25° (~27.75 km at the equator). The dataset integrates multi-source satellite observations (OMI NO2 columns and IASI NH3 columns), atmospheric chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) simulations, ground-based monitoring data, and meteorological data to predict the spatiotemporal distribution of atmospheric N deposition. The temporal extension of the dataset is from 2010 to 2020 with a yearly step.

2.2.4. Temperature and Precipitation Dataset

Monthly temperature and precipitation data were from Peng (2019) [46,47,48,49,50,51], at a spatial resolution of 1km. The dataset was spatially downscaled from CRU TS v4.02 with the WorldClim datasets based on the delta downscaling method and has been well validated using intensive site observations from meteorological sites in China. Data between 1981 and 2019 were used to investigate the climate responses of the C sequestration indicators.

2.3. Climate Responses of the C Sequestration Indicators

To quantify the climatic responses of the C sequestration indicators over the study region, we identified the maximum partial correlations (pcor) of each gridbox with the monthly temperature and precipitation during 1981–2019, and the corresponding critical period within 24 months, i.e., considering a lag effect of up to one year. pcor were calculated for the temperature and precipitation responses, separately, using the R package ‘dendroTools’ (Version 1.0.7, Jevšenak) [52].

3. Results

3.1. Changes in Plantation Areas in Jiangsu Province, China, During 1990–2020

The plantation forests are mainly distributed in southern cities of Jiangsu Province (Figure 1a), with Nanjing (26.88%), Wuxi (17.86%), and Changzhou (12.71%) being the major contributors. In contrast, the cities of northern Jiangsu have a relatively small area of PFs, accounting for 19.57% of the total. The distribution of PFs is relatively stable during the period of 1990–2015 but has increased rapidly since 2015. The distribution of PFs remains relatively stable from 1990 to 2015 but has expanded rapidly since 2015, increasing by approximately 173.52% compared to 1990. This recent expansion is largely driven by the cities of Nanjing, Wuxi, and Changzhou (Figure 1).

3.2. Long-Term Trends and Seasonal Variations in C Sequestration from Plantation Forests in Jiangsu

The GPP and NPP of the plantation forests show very significant increasing trends during the past four decades, with multi-year mean values of 1216.66 and 536.27 gC/m2 per year, respectively (Figure 2). The increasing trend of NEP (y = 0.66 × −1296.45, p < 0.05, r = 0.319) is also significant but is much less clear than that of GPP (y = 5.94 × −10674.26, p < 0.001, r = 0.772) or NPP (y = 2.56 × −4599.00, p < 0.001, r = 0.758). The multi-year mean NEP is about 16.32 gC/m2 per year, with only two years having negative values, suggesting that the PFs mostly act as C sinks during this period. In addition, we also find that the interannual variation in the C sequestration indicators corresponds to that of the N deposition after 2010 (Figure 2).
Seasonally, the GPP and NPP of plantation forests generally peak in the late summer (August to September) and late spring (April to May), respectively (Figure 3). The GPP in recent years also exhibits a peak in late spring. NEP reachs its highest positive values in late spring (14.40 ± 9.85 gC/m2 per month) before steadily declining to its lowest point in July (−19.79 ± 6.23 gC/m2 per month). Thereafter, NEP gradually increases to approximately zero during the non-growing season. The transition from a C sink (positive NEP) to a carbon source (negative NEP) within the growing season is likely driven by increased autotrophic and soil microbial respiration with high summer temperatures, and an elevated risk of drought in the mid-to-late growing season.

3.3. Climate Responses of C Sequestration Indicators

The GPP and NPP of the PFs mainly exhibited positive partial correlations (pcor) with temperature and precipitation (Figure 4). In contrast, the climatic responses of NEP are more variable, with roughly equal areas exhibiting positive and negative correlations across the study region. Meanwhile, the critical period, i.e., the period with the maximum pcor, shows clear divergence between the areas with positive and negative climate correlations, particularly in response to temperature. Positive correlations are primarily observed in the early growing season for GPP and NPP, whereas areas showing negative temperature responses are mostly concentrated in the late growing season of the current year. This pattern suggests that high temperatures in summer have a suppressive effect on PF productivity. In contrast, the critical period for the precipitation responses did not exhibit a clear spatial divergence between positive and negative correlations.

4. Discussion

The results of the GPP and NPP are generally comparable to the existing observational evidence and model outputs from forests under similar climate conditions (Table 1). This re-enforces the model’s performance and ability to properly simulate PFs’ productivity, in addition to the previous evaluation and validation of the model performed over various Chinese forests. Meanwhile, the values of GPP and NPP from our study are lower than those reported for tropical forests and for shrub-dominant ecosystems such as Caatinga and Savanna. The NEP varies significantly between different studies from various forest ecosystems. The NEP values obtained in this study are relatively low compared to those reported in the literature. From a modeling perspective, one important source of uncertainty in estimating the NEP is the quantification of an ecosystem’s heterotrophic respiration. In the existing BEPS model, a CENTURY-derived scheme is applied to simulate soil organic C dynamics, in which the soil microbial decomposition processes are simplified through conceptualizing different soil C pools with different intrinsic decomposition rates [53]. Updating and incorporating a new soil biogeochemical model, for example, an explicit consideration of soil microbial behavior and a corresponding parameterization, will better capture the underlying mechanisms of heterotrophic respiration and will hence benefit the model’s application to forests at larger geographical extensions [54].
From our study, it can be seen that both the area and C sequestration of PFs have increased over the past decades across the study region, highlighting their beneficial role in mitigating climate warming. The rapid expansion of PFs in Jiangsu after 2015 is closely linked to national and provincial mitigation policies and programs. Major afforestation programs launched between 2016 and 2020 which emphasized increasing forest cover as an important approach to fulfilling the national C neutral target in the upcoming decades [27]. These top-down initiatives were supported by economic incentives, such as subsidies and grain-to-green payments, encouraging the conversion of marginal farmland into forests and integrating afforestation into regional planning [28]. Meanwhile, ecological restoration efforts, including coastal shelterbelt planting and wetland forest restoration, e.g., in Yancheng City, have facilitated forest establishment along Jiangsu’s coastal areas [78,79,80]. In addition, initiatives such as the promotion of “Green and Beautiful Villages” and the designation of “National Forest Cities” have motivated local governments to expand urban and peri-urban tree planting [81,82]. These factors likely contributed to the growth of PFs in and around large cities like Nanjing.
The clear upward trend in GPP and NPP is linked to enhanced photosynthesis driven by climatic change in the study region. This result aligns with previous studies reporting an increased canopy leaf area and improved leaf-level photosynthetic efficiency in Chinese forests, particularly in the southeast [83,84,85]. Data from forest Fluxnet sites further underscore a strong CO2 fertilization effect, with nearly all subtropical sites in China showing positive GPP responses to rising atmospheric CO2 [86,87,88]. Meanwhile, rising early growing season temperatures also contribute significantly to increased forest productivity. For example, spring phenology has advanced considerably due to winter and spring warming over the past decades [89]. This is closely associated with the peak in GPP in the early growing season during recent years, as observed in this study (Figure 3). Finally, increased N deposition, serving as a key external nutrient input, may further enhance photosynthetic activity and tree growth. From our analysis, we find that the interannual variability in N deposition aligns well with observed changes in C sequestration indicators. Since many PFs have been established on former farmlands with potential nutrient deficiencies across the study region, the evidence therefore indicates that PFs’ productivity can be affected by the ecosystem’s nutrient supply [90].
Despite the substantial increasing trend in GPP and NPP, the NEP of PFs is observed to be tempered by corresponding rises in ecosystem respiration. The long-term trend in PFs’ NEP suggests that hot weather, especially in late summer, has been boosting ecosystem respiration and partially offsetting the C uptake [91]. Additionally, higher night-time temperatures can increase plant maintenance respiration without any C intake, further reducing daily NEP [92]. In Jiangsu, where late-summer temperature has trended upward [93], trees and soil microbes continue to respire C at high rates, even after seasonal peak photosynthesis has passed, which erodes the NEP during the middle to end of the growing season.
The climatic responses of the C sequestration indicators have further implications on the development and management of plantation forests in areas with similar environments. From our analysis, all three C sequestration indicators exhibit significant negative correlations with the temperatures in late summer (August and September), a period typically marked by intense summer heat and frequent drought events [94]. Therefore, enhancing the drought resilience of PFs is crucial for sustaining and increasing C sequestration across the study region. This requires the careful selection of tree species and genotypes with traits adapted to hot, dry summers. For example, deep-rooted species can access moisture from deeper soil layers during drought, sustaining their transpiration and photosynthesis when shallow-rooted trees (like some poplars) experience water deficit. As observed, a small proportion (~2–5.1%) of deep fine roots can supply up to ~20–40% of the tree’s water use during prolonged dry periods [95]. Thus, selecting or encouraging species with deeper rooting profiles may be one strategy to enhance drought adaptation. Meanwhile, genetic selection within species can be another useful strategy to enhance drought resistance for future PF developments. Studies on hybrid poplars (widely planted in Eastern China) have found significant variation in drought tolerance among clones. For instance, one hybrid clone (Populus deltoides × P. nigra) maintained higher growth and photosynthetic rates under drought, suffering less damage than other clones [96]. Utilizing more drought-resistant clones or species can therefore improve plantation performance during Jiangsu’s drought period. In addition to single-species choices, increasing tree diversity can be another adaptation strategy to maintain the sustainability of PFs. Diverse mixed-species forests tend to be more drought-resilient than monocultures because different root depths and water-use strategies allow for more efficient use of available moisture. A recent global study indicated that converting monoculture plantations to mixed stands (e.g., four species) could raise drought resistance by a few percent on average, with even larger benefits in drier regions [97]. This diversity effect arises from complementary water uptake and stress buffering among species. In practice, managers in Jiangsu can consider blending deep-rooted native hardwoods (such as certain oaks) with a fast-growing species to confer greater ecosystem stability under summer droughts. Overall, species selection and silvicultural practices that favor deep rooting and stand diversity will potentially help Jiangsu’s PFs to better withstand summer drought and low soil moisture, securing their C sequestration capacity in a changing climate.

5. Conclusions

Through this study, we demonstrated that the productivity and C sequestration of Jiangsu’s PFs significantly increased during the past four decades, indicating an enhanced ability to uptake atmospheric CO2 of the PFs across the region. The climatic response analysis further indicated that summer drought is a critical environmental limiting factor to PFs’ C sequestration capacity. Furthermore, the co-variation in the C sequestration indicators with the N deposition rate in recent years also implies that growth of PFs can be limited by the ecosystem’s nutrient availability. We therefore suggest that proper implementation and management, for example, by selecting species or genotypes with a high heat tolerance and low nutrient requirements, will be crucial to maintaining and improving the ecosystem services of PFs in the future, especially from the aspect of C sequestration. Finally, the maintenance of PFs is closely associated with various socioeconomic factors, such as the long-term implementation of top-down restoration programs. The continuous support and investment given to the establishment of PFs from national and local governments will enhance PFs’ contributions to the regional mitigation strategy.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, Y.C. (Yizhao Chen); methodology, Y.C. (Yizhao Chen), Y.C. (Yuxue Cui), M.W. and Z.L.; data curation, Y.C. (Yuxue Cui), M.W. and Z.L.; original draft preparation, Y.C. (Yuxue Cui) and Y.C. (Yizhao Chen); review and editing, Y.C. (Yuxue Cui), Y.C. (Yizhao Chen) and H.R. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This study was supported by the key project of the open competition in Jiangsu Forestry (LYKJ [2022]01), and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2023YFD2200404 and 2021YFD2200403).

Data Availability Statement

The original contributions presented in this study are included in the article. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge all the producers and providers of the datasets that we used in this study.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Forests 16 00756 g001
Figure 1. The spatial distribution of plantation forests (using the condition in the year 2020 as an example) (a) and its variations during 1990–2020 in Jiangsu province, China (b). The pie chart in panel b shows the contributions of each city to the increasing area of plantation forests during 2015–2020. CZ: ChangZhou; HA: HuaiAn; LYG: LianYunGang; NJ: Nanjing; NT: NanTong; SQ: SuQian; SZ: SuZhou; TZ: TaiZhou; WX: WuXi; XZ: XuZhou; YC: YanCheng; YZ: YangZhou; ZJ: ZhenJiang; Others in the pie chart: cities with a growth rate of less than 5%.
Figure 1. The spatial distribution of plantation forests (using the condition in the year 2020 as an example) (a) and its variations during 1990–2020 in Jiangsu province, China (b). The pie chart in panel b shows the contributions of each city to the increasing area of plantation forests during 2015–2020. CZ: ChangZhou; HA: HuaiAn; LYG: LianYunGang; NJ: Nanjing; NT: NanTong; SQ: SuQian; SZ: SuZhou; TZ: TaiZhou; WX: WuXi; XZ: XuZhou; YC: YanCheng; YZ: YangZhou; ZJ: ZhenJiang; Others in the pie chart: cities with a growth rate of less than 5%.
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Forests 16 00756 g002
Figure 2. Long-term trends and variations (1982–2019) of GPP, NPP, and NEP, and annual variations (2010–2020) in N deposition of plantation forests in Jiangsu, China.
Figure 2. Long-term trends and variations (1982–2019) of GPP, NPP, and NEP, and annual variations (2010–2020) in N deposition of plantation forests in Jiangsu, China.
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Forests 16 00756 g003
Figure 3. Seasonal variations in GPP (a), NPP (b), and NEP (c) of plantation forests during 1981–2019 in Jiangsu province, China.
Figure 3. Seasonal variations in GPP (a), NPP (b), and NEP (c) of plantation forests during 1981–2019 in Jiangsu province, China.
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Forests 16 00756 g004
Figure 4. Climate responses and the corresponding critical period, i.e., the periods with the maximum correlations of the GPP, NPP, and NEP of plantation forests during 1981–2019. The percentages presented are over the study region. The left, middle, and right sub-plots in each panel show the proportion of area, the partial correlation coefficients, and the corresponding critical period with the positive or negative responses of the plantation forests, respectively.
Figure 4. Climate responses and the corresponding critical period, i.e., the periods with the maximum correlations of the GPP, NPP, and NEP of plantation forests during 1981–2019. The percentages presented are over the study region. The left, middle, and right sub-plots in each panel show the proportion of area, the partial correlation coefficients, and the corresponding critical period with the positive or negative responses of the plantation forests, respectively.
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Table 1. Comparison of the GPP, NPP, and NEP results from this study to the existing observational and modeling records.
Table 1. Comparison of the GPP, NPP, and NEP results from this study to the existing observational and modeling records.
Indicator Value
(gC·m−2·yr−1)		Study RegionMethodsSourceReference
GPP1966–2257Southern ChinaModelRFR-LUESuhua Wei et al. (2017) [55]
1430–1619Southern ChinaModelEC-LUEXianglan Li et al. (2013) [56]
1174.65–1982.54Southern ChinaModelMODIS, PML, and VPMYuzhen Li et al. (2022) [57]
1211–1604Southern China ModelMODIS algorithm parameterized by FLUXNET sitesWang, L. et al. (2017) [58]
1509 ± 734Southern ChinaModelVIPXingguo Mo et al. (2018) [59]
3150Tropical forests in MalaysiaModelVPISITM. Adachi et al. (2011) [60]
3551 ± 160Global tropical forests Observation and modelData synthesisS. Luyssaert et al. (2007) [61]
1709 ± 80Sites in Southern ChinaSite observationFLUXNETZhi Chen et al. (2019) [62]
1826Sites in Southern ChinaSite observationFLUXNETWang, L. et ail. (2017) [58]
3040–3140Tropical forests in the AmazonSite observationFLUXNETMalhi et al. (2009) [63]
4860Tropical forests in the AmazonSite observationFLUXNETAlves et al. (2024) [64]
4010Tropical forests in West AfricanSite observationIn situ biometric measurementsZhang-Zheng et al. (2024) [65]
1314Caatinga ecosystem in BrazilSite observationFLUXNETMendes et al. (2021) [66]
2144 ± 123Savanna ecosystem in North Australia Site observationFLUXNETLindsay et al. (2021) [67]
1216.66Jiangsu Province, ChinaModelBEPSThis study
NPP687Southern ChinaModelBEPSShiyan Yin et al. (2024) [68]
1018Southern ChinaModelDLEMShufen Pan et al. (2015) [69]
891Southern ChinaModelM-SDGVMMao et al. (2010) [70]
721Southern ChinaModelCEVSATao et al. (2003) [71]
417.9Southern ChinaModelCASAPiao et al. (2005) [72]
864 ± 96Global tropical forests Site observation and modelData synthesisS. Luyssaert et al. (2007) [61]
1300 ± 50Evergreen forests in Ghana, West AfricaSite observationIn situ biometric measurementsSam Moore et al. (2017) [73]
1000–1440Tropical forests in the AmazonSite observationFLUXNETMalhi et al. (2009) [63]
536.27Jiangsu Province, ChinaModelBEPSThis study
NEP15–60Southern ChinaModelCEVESATao, B. et al. (2007) [74]
160.4–193.3Taihu Lake Basin, ChinaModelBIOME-BGCXibao Xu et al. (2017) [75]
266Poyang Lake Basin, ChinaModelInTECZhou Lei et al. (2013) [76]
30Tropical forests in MalaysiaModelVPISITM. Adachi et al. (2011) [60]
424 ± 95Savanna ecosystem in North Australia Site observationFLUXNETLindsay et al. (2021) [67]
403 ± 102Global tropical forests Site observation and modelData synthesisS. Luyssaert et al. (2007) [61]
254Poyang Lake Basin, China Site observationFLUXNETZhou Lei et al. (2013) [76]
385.36 ± 117.81Sites in Southern China Site observationFLUXNETYu GR et al. (2012) [77]
668Tropical forests in the AmazonSite observationFLUXNETAlves et al. (2024) [64]
16.32Jiangsu Province, ChinaModelBEPSThis study
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Cui, Y.; Wu, M.; Lin, Z.; Chen, Y.; Ruan, H. Long-Term Carbon Sequestration and Climatic Responses of Plantation Forests Across Jiangsu Province, China. Forests 2025, 16, 756. https://doi.org/10.3390/f16050756

AMA Style

Cui Y, Wu M, Lin Z, Chen Y, Ruan H. Long-Term Carbon Sequestration and Climatic Responses of Plantation Forests Across Jiangsu Province, China. Forests. 2025; 16(5):756. https://doi.org/10.3390/f16050756

Chicago/Turabian Style

Cui, Yuxue, Miaomiao Wu, Zhongyi Lin, Yizhao Chen, and Honghua Ruan. 2025. "Long-Term Carbon Sequestration and Climatic Responses of Plantation Forests Across Jiangsu Province, China" Forests 16, no. 5: 756. https://doi.org/10.3390/f16050756

APA Style

Cui, Y., Wu, M., Lin, Z., Chen, Y., & Ruan, H. (2025). Long-Term Carbon Sequestration and Climatic Responses of Plantation Forests Across Jiangsu Province, China. Forests, 16(5), 756. https://doi.org/10.3390/f16050756

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