Region-county characteristics of spatiotemporal dynamic evolution and influencing factors on agricultural net carbon sink in Hexi region of Gansu Province

[Display omitted] •The net carbon sink of agriculture showed a fluctuating upward trend during the study period.•Fertilizers and sheep farming are major carbon sources, and vegetables and corn are carbon sinks.•The per capita arable land area significantly promotes the farming net carbon sink.•The urbanization level has a negative spillover effect on net carbon sequestration in farming. Reducing emissions and enhancing carbon sinks areessential for promoting regional agriculture in a green, low-carbon manner. However, most studies have overlooked spatial dependence and heterogeneity while incomprehensively exploring the influencing factors. Taking the counties in the Hexi region asour primary focus, thenet carbon sequestrationand its spatial–temporal dynamic evolutionprocess from 2000 to 2020were calculatedandexplored, and the factorsinfluencingand theirspatial effect decomposition were investigated.We observed thatalthough each county has been in a state of carbon surplusduring the research term, there is a spatial imbalance among them. The overall tendency of the net farming carbon sinks inthe Hexi area showed fluctuationsand an upwardtrend, with higher values observed in the eastern region than in the northwest. Ganzhou District and Shandan County play pivotal rolesregarding the movement of the center of gravity concerning agricultural net carbonsequestrations. Cultivated land area per capita contributes to county-level agricultural net carbon sequestration within the Hexi region. Per capita agricultural GDP, agricultural industrial structure, andfinancial support for agriculturedemonstrate remarkable active spillover effects. Conversely, urbanization exhibits a notable opposite spillover effect. Our results can provide a scientific basement for formulating differentiated policies for low-carbonagricultural developmentin the Hexi region.