Assessing Carbon Sink Capacity in Coal Mining Areas: A Case Study from Taiyuan City, China

Abstract

Climate warming and air pollution are atmospheric environmental problems that have aroused broad concern worldwide. Greenhouse gas emissions are the main cause of global warming. In addition to reducing carbon emissions, increasing carbon sink capacity and improving environmental quality are essential for building green and low-carbon enterprises under carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals. Currently, the research on the methods and application of carbon sink capacity assessment in coal mining enterprises is limited. Given this, this study estimated the carbon absorption, carbon storage, and net ecosystem productivity of a typical coal mining area in Taiyuan City, China, and compared the characteristics and applicability of the three methods. The results showed the following: (1) The total carbon absorption (carbon sink) of the mining area in 2021 was 117.39 t, the primary source of which is forest land. (2) The total carbon storage in the mining area in 2021 was 29,561.96 t. From different land use types, the carbon storage in the mining area mainly came from forest land (27,867.73 t); from the perspective of carbon pool, soil carbon storage (21,970.96 t) had the most significant contribution to the carbon storage of mining areas. (3) The net ecosystem productivity of the mining area in 2021 was 781.97 g/(m2·a), indicating that the ecosystem of the mining area was a carbon sink. (4) The three estimation methods differed in the current case. The estimation method for carbon absorption is the simplest, and the results are the most intuitive. The estimation method for net ecosystem productivity is the most complex. The carbon sink estimation via carbon storage needs to collect two years of data. Enterprises should assess the carbon sink capacity of mining areas based on existing conditions and data. This study proposes methods for estimating carbon sink capacity in mining areas, which have positive practical significance for the low-carbon green development of coal mine enterprises.