Objective To investigate the long-term effects of climate change and marsh meadow degradation on CH4 and CO2 emissions. Methods Measured CH4 and CO2 fluxes from undegraded, mildly degraded, moderately degraded, and severely degraded soils in the Gahai Wetland on the northeastern source region of the Tibetan Plateau were used to validate the DNDC model. Carbon emissions from degraded wetlands from 2025 to 2055 were then predicted under two future climate scenarios (SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5). Results 1) The DNDC model accurately simulated the dynamic variations in soil CH4 (R2>0.67, NRMSE<0.34) and CO2 (R2>0.70, NRMSE<0.21) fluxes across four degradation gradients in Gahai. 2) The sensitivity index (SI) was an indicator used to quantify the sensitivity of model outputs to variations in input parameters. Sensitivity analysis of meteorological factors showed that temperature was the most sensitive factor influencing soil CH4 (SI=1.19) and CO2 (SI=0.78) fluxes. Under variations in precipitation and atmospheric CO2 concentration, the SI values for CH4 were 0.07 and 0.15, respectively, while those for CO2 were 0.12 and 0.10, respectively. 3) Future climate scenarios showed differences in carbon emissions across wetlands with four degradation levels. Under the SSP2-4.5 scenario, CH4 fluxes were projected to increase annually by 0.4% to 2.2%, and CO2 fluxes by 0.3% to 1.1%. Under the SSP5-8.5 scenario, CH4 fluxes were projected to increase annually by 0.6% to 2.4%, and CO2 fluxes by 0.2% to 1.9%. Conclusions Under future extreme climate conditions, undegraded wetlands can effectively reduce soil carbon loss, while severely degraded wetlands have largely lost their hydrological regulation capacity. The findings provide a theoretical reference for the protection of Gahai Wetland and climate governance.
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