Increasing human population, particularly when combined with rapid industrial and economic development, is a major cause of global environmental change. One of the most visible types of change caused by human activities is land cover change: the conversion of land cover from one type of cover (such as forests or grasslands) to another type (such as agriculture or urban areas). Land cover change typically involves the alteration or removal of vegetation in the landscape. Such disturbances to the landscape reduce the ability of a region's ecosystems to contribute to important biosphere processes, including the terrestrial carbon cycle. The most common types of land cover change cause a net loss of vegetation from the landscape and disturb the underlying soil. This can result in a net release of carbon stored in vegetation and soil into the atmosphere, where it contributes to increased atmospheric CO2 concentrations and, potentially, global warming. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay A better understanding of the Earth's carbon cycle and its role in global climate change requires information on patterns and rates of land cover change and their effects on ecosystem functioning. Satellite remote sensing and ecosystem modeling work in the Frontier Research System for Global Change (FRSGC) Ecosystem Change Research Program is designed to help achieve this understanding. Some of this research has focused on land cover change in a rapidly developing region in the southern part of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Satellite studies indicate that land cover change in the PRC is occurring at unprecedented rates. A recent remote sensing analysis conducted by Seta (2000) showed that between 1988 and 1996, urban areas in the greater Pearl River Delta region in the southern PRC increased by more than 300%, while natural and agricultural lands increased decreased by approximately 6% and 10%, respectively (Fig. 2). How have these changes affected the terrestrial carbon cycle in the region? To answer this question, we used satellite remote sensing, ecosystem process modeling, and ecological data to study the effects of land cover change on two components of the carbon cycle: net primary production (NPP) and carbon storage. in the ecosystem (Dye et al. , 2002). The results of our analysis suggest that land cover change in the Pearl River Delta region between 1988 and 1996 influenced the regional carbon cycle by reducing both the annual NPP rate and the size of the terrestrial carbon pool. The dominant mode of land use change has been the conversion of natural and agricultural land to urban uses. Urbanization generally involves the removal of vegetation (forests, pastures or agricultural crops) and its replacement with roads, buildings and other urban infrastructure. As a consequence of urbanization, the annual amount of atmospheric carbon assimilated by vegetation through the nuclear power plant decreased by approximately 1.5 megatons (-7.5%). This result indicates a reduction in the total photosynthetic capacity and carbon sequestration potential of the region's ecosystems. More than half (55%) of this nuclear power plant reduction is attributable to the loss of agricultural land. Urbanization has released approximately 12 megatons of carbon from the basin2.