Estimation of carbon stock in the reed wetland of Weishan county in China based on Sentinel satellite series

Abstract Reed wetlands in Weishan County, Shandong provinces, are typical and representative wetland ecosystems with exceptional carbon sequestration potential. Evaluating the spatial and temporal characteristics of land use and carbon stock in these reed wetlands, and exploring their carbon sink value is crucial for climate change mitigation and adaptation, and provides a potential to use reed wetlands as a solution for carbon neutrality in China. Using Sentinel active and passive remote sensing data within the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform, we employed the random forest classification method to identify the land use features in Weishan County. By combining these data with carbon density data obtained from bibliometric sources and the InVEST model, we evaluated the spatial and temporal dynamics of carbon stock in the reed wetlands as well as other land use types. The results indicated that optical data are more effective than radar data for land use classification, achieving the mean value of the overall accuracy of 89%. Reed wetlands contribute significantly to carbon stock, accounting for 28% of the total carbon stock in Weishan County. Other major contributors include forest, water body, agricultural land, artificial land, unused land, and mudflat land. The highest concentration of carbon stock is found along the shores of the four lakes and in the northeastern mountainous areas of Weishan County. The carbon stock capacity of the reed wetland in Weishan County is expected to generate a carbon sink value of 4.95–54 × 10 8 RMB, up to 1%–12% of the county’s GDP. These findings provide a scientific foundation for subsequent reed restoration and management efforts and offer valuable insights for developing relevant carbon neutrality strategies.