The assessment of the carbon sink disturbance is helpful to identify, assess, simulate, predict, and manage regional carbon sink health and then support regional ecological security. The multi-source disturbance of the complex ecosystem not only changes land use but also significantly impacts the regional carbon cycle and threatens the regional ecological health and human well-being. Using Ordos as an example, a regional carbon sink disturbance risk assessment framework was constructed, including carbon sink loss combined with landscape response and anthropogenic stress. The carbon sink capacity under climate-driven and anthropogenic stress and the carbon sink disturbance risk caused by landscape structure change were evaluated and predicted, respectively, and the spatial distribution characteristics and changing trends of carbon sink disturbance risk were determined.

Carbon sink disturbance; Risk assessment; Ordos; Carbon sink loss; Landscape ecological risk