DISTRIBUTION OF CARBON STORAGE AND POTENTIAL STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE CARBON SEQUESTRATION CAPACITY IN SINGAPORE

The expansion of urbanization leads to significant changes in land use, consequently affecting carbon storage. This research aims to investigate the carbon loss due to land use alterations and proposes strategies for mitigation. Utilizing existing land use data from 2017 and 2022, along with simulated data for 2025 generated by an ANN model and Cellular Automata, we identified changes in land use. These changes were then correlated with variations in carbon storage, both gains and losses. Our findings reveal a significant loss of 36,859 metric tons of carbon storage from 2017 to 2022. The projection for 2025 estimates a further reduction, reaching a total loss of 83,409 metric tons. By employing the LISA method, we identified that low-carbon storage zones are concentrated in the southeast region of the research site. By overlaying these zones with areas of carbon storage loss, we pinpointed regions severely affected by carbon depletion. Consequently, we propose that mitigation strategies should be imperatively implemented in these identified areas to counteract the trend of carbon storage loss. This approach offers urban planners a solution to identify areas experiencing carbon storage decline. Moreover, our research methodology provides a novel framework for scholars studying similar carbon issues.