Rapid revegetation after the Wenchuan earthquake offsets landslide-induced carbon losses

Large earthquakes in mountainous regions trigger extensive landslides, which mobilize organic carbon via soil erosion and vegetation loss, disrupting carbon reservoirs and influencing CO₂ levels. Quantifying earthquake impacts on carbon stock and cycling remains challenging. Here, we use field organic carbon data from 91 quadrats and over 20 years of remote sensing imagery to assess the impact of landslides from the 2008 M_w 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake on the carbon budget. We show that these landslides removed 2.72 ± 0.52 Tg of organic carbon in the upper Min Jiang. While its oxidation releases CO₂, rapid revegetation offsets this, making the earthquake a net carbon sink. Time-series data indicate that vegetation carbon stocks will recover to 50% of pre-earthquake levels in 74 ± 5 years, whereas soil organic carbon recovery to 50% may take 500–850 years. This study highlights the decadal to centennial-scale impact of extreme events on carbon cycling.