Study on the carbon effects of land consolidation and optimization path of low-carbon decision-making from the perspective of life cycle

Land consolidation (LC) is an important land use activity in China. Especially under the background of global climate change and national carbon neutrality strategy, it is particularly important to study the relationship between LC and carbon cycle. Existing studies lack the carbon effects analysis of the whole process and the exploration of low-carbon optimization strategies. Therefore, from the perspective of the whole life cycle, this study applied Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method to construct a research framework and accounting system for carbon footprint assessment of LC, and then explored the decision-making optimization path of low-carbon LC construction based on the ISM model. Results showed that: (a) The carbon effect of the project area was characterized as carbon sink during the whole life cycle of LC, with the amount of 492tCE. (b) Carbon effect varied among different stages of LC. The Restoration Period (RP) and the Benefit Period (BP) were characterized as carbon sink, while all the other stages were manifested as carbon emission. Among them, as to the carbon emission, the Construction Period (CP) played a decisive role with the most proportion, followed by DP, and the carbon effect of PP was negligible. (c) Based on the calculation of ISM model, 17 low-carbon measures were divided into three levels. The analysis results show that measures such as improving the quality of cultivated land and protecting the Ecological Redline would play a decisive role in the low-carbon development of LC. This study contributes to providing certain theoretical guidance and method reference for the realization of Low-Carbon LC project planning.