Abstract: What are the optimizing artificial managements to enhance carbon (C) sequestration of terrestrial ecosystems at regional scales, and how to evaluate them, are of concern for ecologists, environmental experts, and government officials. In this study, we first discussed the approaches to enhance C sequestration by natural processes and human activity, respectively. Based on an expert assessment system, we then evaluated qualitatively the effect of C sequestration of various artificial managements, which had been utilizing widely in forest, grassland, farmland, and wetland ecosystems in China. We found that most of artificial managements have apparent capacity to enhance C sequestration of terrestrial ecosystems, and are feasible in view of technology and economy. Base on our qualitatively evaluation, we proposed 2 or 3 artificial managements for forest, grassland, farmland and wetland ecosystems, respectively, which have evident potential to enhance C sequestration and are easy to be extended. Furthermore, we found that some artificial managements mentioned above have not been adopted in 2006 IPCC guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories. In order to put forward scientific foundation and finally promote these artificial managements accepted by IPCC, scientists therefore should select these excellent managements for terrestrial ecosystems in China to investigate systematically the processes of C cycle and C sequestration, and to develop new methods for the evaluation of C sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems.

Key words: carbon sequestration, carbon sink/source, ecological approach, IPCC, terrestrial ecosystem