On September 10, the 67th HNU Distinguished Scientist Lecture was held in the lecture hall of Mingde Building. Liu Shirong, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a professor at the Chinese Academy of Forestry, delivered a keynote lecture titled “Synergistic Enhancement of Forest Ecosystem Carbon Sequestration and Resilience under Climate Change”.

On September 10, the 67th HNU Distinguished Scientist Lecture is held in the lecture hall of Mingde Building.

Beginning with China’s national “dual carbon” strategy, Liu introduced the global landscape of climate change and the domestic situation. He analyzed greenhouse gas emissions, which are the culprit of global climate change, as well as its underlying causes, noting that the current global strategy for addressing climate change places equal emphasis on mitigation and adaptation. Liu elaborated on the unique role of forests in addressing climate change, covering forest-based climate-change mitigation, global forest carbon stocks and sinks, as well as China’s terrestrial and forest carbon sinks. He noted that forest carbon sinks play an important role in climate change mitigation by regulating both the climate and water cycle and promoting climate adaptation in human society.

Liu noted that forest carbon sink functions are facing challenges amid climate-change impacts. How to synergistically enhance carbon sequestration and resilience in forest ecosystems has therefore become a major research focus in recent years. He pointed out that biodiversity serves as the foundation for ecosystem stability and risk resilience. He also stressed that we must follow natural laws and advance natural regeneration, pursue integrated conservation and systematic governance of mountains, rivers, forests, farmland, lakes, grasslands and deserts. We need to refine the space-air-ground integrated monitoring and early-warning system, adopt site-specific and zoned measures, and advance science-based forest management.

Liu Shirong delivers the lecture. 

During the interactive session, faculty members and students raised questions regarding carbon sequestration approaches, carbon trading, and other topics. Liu provided detailed responses to each question, sharing his insights into cutting-edge research and extensive research experience.

Faculty members and students engage in discussion with Liu Shirong. 

Representatives from the Hainan Association for Science and Technology, relevant societies, enterprise and university associations for science and technology, as well as heads of relevant HNU schools and departments, and faculty and student representatives from HNU’s Haidian, Danzhou, Mission Hills (including the Chengxi Teaching Site), and Yazhou campuses attended the lecture both in-person and online.

Translated by Gao Jiajia

Proofread by Guo Jinping