Effects of land use patterns on carbon sinks in terrestrial ecosystems in Xinjiang

Net ecosystem productivity (NEP) is a measure of ecosystem carbon revenue and expenditure, and changes in land use patterns have a significant impact on ecosystem carbon sink function in Xinjiang, yet the exact impact remains uncertain. In this study, we analyzed the dynamic changes of land use patterns by extracting landscape indices and applied the integrated empirical modal decomposition (EEMD) method to analyze the nonlinear trends of land use pattern changes in Xinjiang, China, from 1981 to 2019, using the Xinjiang region as the study area. In addition, the response relationship between the two factors is further explored by Pearson correlation analysis after de-trending them based on EEMD. The following are the main results of the study:(l) In most areas of Xinjiang, patch fragmentation and shape complexity increased overall, patch connectivity and maximum dominant patch area decreased, and the diversity and homogeneity of land use types increased. (2) For areas of significant change, AWMPFD, PD, SHDI and CONTAG were significantly negatively correlated with NEP, while MSIEI and LPI were significantly positively correlated with NEP.