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Riverine carbon cycle in the Dongjiang river basin and its response to human impacts
Map Library, Rm10.10, 10/F, The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU
Mr Liu Boyi PhD Student, Department of Geography, HKU
Abstract:
Riverine carbon cycle is an important component of the global carbon cycle. River systems are not only vectors that transfer terrestrial carbon from land to ocean, but also processors, which are able to store, outgas and transform it. However, significant spatial variation of riverine carbon paired with uneven spatial coverage in studies leads to a biased flux estimate. Meanwhile, anthropogenic processes also complicate riverine carbon transport and limit the accuracy of this estimate. To further refine global estimates of riverine carbon flux, it is necessary to conduct research in current data-poor regions such as East Asian. The Dongjiang River located in subtropical South China is one of three primary tributaries of the Pearl River. Due to its subtropical monsoon climate, The Dongjiang river basin (DRB) has experienced seasonal changes of temperature and precipitation which alter the riverine carbon significantly. Meanwhile, human activities in the DRB, especially land-use changes over the past decades, also affect its riverine carbon cycle processes. We will combine fieldwork and lab analysis to investigate the riverine carbon cycle in the DRB and its response to human impacts. Specifically, we focus on three aspects 1) Dynamics of CO2 flux at the water-air interface and its relation to environment features, 2) Temporal variation of downstream carbon export and its response to monsoonal rainfall, 3) the influences of human activities on riverine carbon cycle. This study will contribute to a better understanding on the mechanisms of the dynamic riverine carbon cycle, and to more accurate estimates of carbon budgets.
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