Evaluation of Carbon Sink Capacity of Tree Species in Gansu Province based on Remote Sensing Data

With the increase in greenhouse gas emissions, global warming has been accelerating. Aiming at reducing the amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, this paper takes the dominant tree species in Gansu Province of China as the research objects, obtains the data on forests area through remote sensing and GIS technology, and evaluates the carbon sink capacity of forest trees. The research simulates the actual growth of the tree by computer, and compares cumulative carbon sinks between the control group and the experimental group, in order to determine the optimal harvesting ages of the tree. The results show that the optimal harvesting ages of Pinus armandii, Quercus liaotungensis, and Betula platyphylla are 61a, 120a and 61a, respectively. Compared with the control group, the cumulative carbon sinks of Pinus armandii, Quercus liaotungensis and Betula platyphylla are higher by 11.57%, 17.77% and 96.43%, respectively, while those of Abies fabri and Cupressus funebris are lower by 39.74% and 56.49%. In addition, this paper provides a decision-making method for managing tree harvesting from the perspective of carbon sink, which promotes the carbon sink capacity of the tree in a certain number of years. The research in this paper is of great significance to remote sensing applications and scientific decision-making by forest operators.