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Coupling of Land Leveling and Enhanced Rock Weathering for CO₂ Removal in Hilly and Mountainous Areas of China

  

  1. (1.FacultyofArtandDesign,KunmingMetallurgyUniversity,Kunming650033,China;2.KunmingGeneralSurveyofNaturalResourcesCenter,ChinaGeologicalSurvey,Kunming650100,China)
  • Online:2026-08-31 Published:2026-09-01

Abstract: To address climate change and contribute to achieving the “Dual Carbon” goal, this study proposes integrating Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) technology with land leveling projects, by utilizing on‑site crushing of gravel to realize CO₂ sequestration and betterment of land. This technology utilizes silicate and carbonate minerals to fix CO₂ through weathering, thereby helping to replenish China's farmland resources. Simultaneously, it gradually releases essential nutrients such as potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium to improve soil conditions, increasing the soil pH by 0.2 to 2 units and boosting crop yields by 12% to 42%. Additionally, it synergistically strengthens the water and soil conservation capabilities of terraces. This model exhibits the potential to substantially reduce the carbon sequestration costs associated with ERW. The preliminary estimation indicates an annual carbon sequestration potential ranging from 398 million to 6.368 billion tons within China (conservative to optimistic estimates). The conservative estimation corresponds to approximately 48% of the current sink capacity of forest ecosystems, if the technology can be applied on a large scale and improve the carbon sequestration efficiency, the optimistic estimate suggests that it could cover more than 60% of the national annual carbon emissions. This technology can achieve “Treating Carbon with Waste”, providing an innovative solution for land leveling and carbon neutrality. In the future, more field experiments need to be conducted to optimize the implementation process and assess the long‑term ecological effects.

Key words: enhanced rock weathering, land leveling, Carbon sequestration, supplementary cultivated land, Carbon neutrality pathway

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