How Land Use Transitions Contribute to the Soil Organic Carbon Accumulation from 1990 to 2020

Soil organic carbon stock (SOCS) changes caused by land use changes are still unclear, and understanding this response is essential for many environmental policies and land management practices. In this study, we investigated the temporal–spatial and vertical distribution characteristics of the SOCS in the Western Sichuan Plateau (WSP) using the sparrow search algorithm–random forest regression (SSA-RFR) models with excellent model applicability and accuracy. The temporal–spatial variations in the SOCS were modeled using 1080 soil samples and a set of nine environmental covariates. We analyzed the effect of land use changes on the SOCS in the WSP. The total SOCS increased by 18.03 Tg C from 1990 to 2020. The results of this study confirmed a significant increase in the SOCS in the study area since 2010. There was a 27.88 Tg C increase in the SOCS in 2020 compared to the total SOCS in 2010. We found that the spatial distribution of the SOCS increased from southeast to northwest, and the vertical distribution of the SOCS in the study area decreased with increasing soil depth. Forests and grasslands are the main sources of SOCS the total SOCS in the forest and grassland accounted for 37.53 and 59.39% of the total soil organic carbon (SOC) pool in 2020, respectively. The expansion of the wetlands, forest, and grassland areas could increase the SOCS in the study area. A timely and accurate understanding of the dynamics of SOC is crucial for developing effective land management strategies to enhance carbon sequestration and mitigate land degradation.