Study on the influence of structural characteristics of urban green space plant communities on carbon sequestration and its optimal regulation

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Plant communities serve as the fundamental components of urban green spaces and play a critical role in mitigating climate change by reducing atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. The structural characteristics of plant communities have a significant impact on their carbon sequestration function. This study utilized aboveground carbon storage, soil carbon storage, and maintenance carbon emissions as quantifiers of carbon income and expenditure and examined 106 plant communities (20 m×20 m) in Zhengzhou Green Expo Park. The aim was to establish a statistical relationship model between the plant community structural characteristics and total annual carbon sequestration, providing a quantitative basis for regulating community structure to improve the carbon sequestration ability of urban green spaces. The results showed that density and coverage characteristics were significant factors positively correlated with the annual carbon sequestration of the plant communities. The fastest increase in annual carbon sequestration in the plant community reached 44%, from 183.04 kg CO 2 -eq/y − 1 to 327.67 kg CO 2 -eq/y − 1 /400 m 2 , with density ranging from 0.1 to 0.15 and coverage from 0.5 to 1. The carbon sequestration amount did not increase significantly following continuous increases in density and coverage characteristics. Density played a key structural role in regulating the total carbon sequestration of the plant communities, being 27.24 times more effective than coverage. This study provides valuable data for increasing the carbon sink ability of urban green spaces through plant structure regulation and supporting low-carbon development strategies in urban management and also has positive implications for reducing the atmospheric carbon content and mitigating climate warming potentials in urban green spaces.