Spatiotemporal evolutions and reasons of land-use carbon emissions in counties, Shaanxi Province, China

Global warming caused by factors such as the expansion of construction land poses a major threat to the sustainable development of China. As an important component of China's low-carbon development strategy, there is a relative lack of analysis of the spatial and temporal evolution of land-use carbon emissions and the influencing factors at county-level. In this study, we employed Emission-Factor Approach to estimate carbon emissions from land use in 107 counties, Shaanxi province, China. Our findings revealed construction land were the primary contributors to carbon emissions, showing a substantial increase from 2000 to 2020. There was positive spatial autocorrelation in carbon emissions among counties, forming distinct aggregation patterns around the City of Xi'an and both the southern and northern regions of Shaanxi. By utilizing the Spatial Durbin Error Model (SDEM), demographic factors emerged as key drivers of carbon emissions, indicating the significance of addressing population concentration to curb emissions. Furthermore, promoting coordinated development and adjusting the economic structure in different counties can mitigate both population concentration and carbon emissions. Emphasizing industrial development and investments can also effectively suppress carbon emissions. Additionally, managing transportation-related emissions can be achieved by enhancing public transportation services and regulating private car usage.