Exploring the impacts of urban growth on carbon storage under integrated spatial regulation: A case study of Wuhan, China

The increasing demand for natural resources due to urban growth has led to sharp conflicts between urban land demand and environmental protection, causing problems such as decrease in the carbon storage of terrestrial ecosystems. To achieve sustainable urban development, China has implemented spatial regulation to restrict urban growth, but there have been various conflicts among multiple spatial regulation plans. In this study, we explored the impact of urban growth on carbon storage under integrated spatial regulation in Wuhan, China by combining the SLEUTH and InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs) models. Firstly, the SLEUTH model was adopted to simulate the urban growth under different scenarios from 2015 to 2030. Then, the InVEST model was employed to explore the impacts of urban growth on regional carbon storage. The results showed that the integrated spatial regulation can reduce the growth rate of urban areas, decrease the use of natural resources by urban land, and alleviate the conflicts between the construction needs of urban development and environmental protection. Besides, under integrated spatial regulation, the encroachment rate of high carbon density land by urban growth is gradually slowed down, effectively reducing the loss of regional carbon storage. These findings indicate that the implementation of urban development strategies under integrated spatial regulation will better facilitate regional sustainable development than traditional urban planning.