A Low-Carbon Land Use Management Framework Based on Urban Carbon Metabolism: A Case of a Typical Coal Resource-Based City in China

Abstract

It is of great significance to study urban carbon metabolism and explore the low-carbon land use management framework from the perspective of “ecological-production-living” space, an important means for the government to strengthen spatial regulation. In the study, first of all, a carbon metabolism network model was established based on the evolution of the “ecological-production-living” space. Secondly, an ecological network analysis (ENA) method was used to identify the ecological relationships between land use types under the effect of carbon metabolism. In addition, ArcGIS software was used to visualize the spatial distribution of carbon flow and ecological relationships. Finally, a low-carbon oriented land use management framework was proposed based on the above research. Yulin, a typical coal resource-based city in China, was taken as a case study for verification. The results showed that Yulin had net carbon emissions from 2010 to 2020, indicating that the evolution of “ecological-production-living” space had a negative impact on the carbon metabolism. Industrial, mining and transportation land dominated carbon emissions, while forestland played an important role in carbon sequestration. Under the effect of carbon metabolism, a controlling and exploitative relationship was the main ecological relationship, and a mutualism relationship accounted for the smallest proportion, indicating that the urban ecological conflict was obvious in the evolution of the “ecological-production-living” space. Based on the above research, a land use management framework was proposed, which divided urban space into six types of control units. In conclusion, the results provided experience for other coal resource-based cities to promote low-carbon and sustainable land use.