## 6 Conclusions  
The estimation of forest carbon sinks in the Qinba Mountain area using SIF remote sensing aims to assess large-scale forest carbon sinks by independently fitting model parameters for each grid point within the study area. The following conclusions were drawn from this study:  
1. Feasibility and effectiveness of SIF for estimating carbon sinks: The use of SIF for estimating carbon sinks in the Qinba Mountain area is both feasible and effective. SIF remote sensing technology accurately estimates GPP of vegetation, enabling reliable calculation of forest carbon sinks. The forests in the Qinba Mountain area have significant carbon sinks potential, with the ability to sequester approximately 24.51 TgC annually during the growing season (June to September). Notably, seasonal carbon uptake in this region contributes 10.6% of the national annual carbon sequestration, playing a significant role in advancing China's dual carbon goals. 2. Spatial and temporal variation in carbon sinks distribution: There are notable spatial and temporal differences in the distribution of forest carbon sinks in the Qinba Mountain area. From 2011 to 2018, carbon sinks values decreased spatially from the northwest to the southeast. Interannual variability revealed that the northwest exhibited minimal fluctuations, while the southeast experienced a fluctuating decline followed by a fluctuating increase in carbon sinks over time. 3. Influence of forest characteristics on carbon sinks capacity: The carbon sinks capacity of the forests in the Qinba Mountain area is influenced by factors such as forest age, type, and altitude. Plantation forests aged 10 to 70 years demonstrate strong carbon sink capacities, while natural forests aged 70 to 130 years exhibit even stronger carbon sequestration potential than plantation forests. Furthermore, the proportion of forest carbon sinks varies significantly across different altitude ranges, with higher-altitude areas displaying stronger carbon sinks capabilities. This suggests that the carbon sinks potential of forests in the Qinba Mountain area is closely related to both topography and forest structure. Conceptualization, Y.H. ; data curation, Y.L., Y.H., L.W. ([PERSON]), Y.W. ([PERSON]), Y.W. ([PERSON]) and Z.X. ; formal analysis, Y.L. ; funding acquisition, Y.H. ; methodology, Y.L. ; software, Y.L. ; supervision, Y.H., X.X. and L.W. ([PERSON]); writing--original draft, Y.L. ;writing--review and editing, Y.H. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. * [1]**Funding:** This research was funded by the Special Funds of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, grant number 42341102, and the National Science and Technology Basic Resource Investigation Program, grant number 2017 FY100904. * [2]**Data Availability Statement:** The GOSIF datasets, GPP datasets, NEP datasets, MODIS datasets, Forest area datasets, Forest age, Forest type datasets and DEM datasets covered in this study are freely available online from their distributing organizations. * [3]**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. * [PERSON] et al. (2023) [PERSON]; [PERSON]; [PERSON]; [PERSON]; [PERSON]; [PERSON]; [PERSON]; [PERSON]; [PERSON]; [PERSON]; et al. Inner Mongolia grasslands act as a weak regional carbon sink: A new estimation based on upscaling eddy covariance observations. _Agric. For. Meteorol._**2023**, _342_, 109719. [CrossRef]
* [PERSON] et al. (2024) [PERSON]; [PERSON]; [PERSON]; [PERSON] Assessment of spongy moth infestation impacts on forest productivity and carbon loss using the Sentinel-2 satellite remote sensing and eddy covariance flux data. _Ecol. Process._**2024**, _13_, 37. [CrossRef]
* [PERSON] et al. (2022) [PERSON]; [PERSON]; [PERSON]; [PERSON] Carbon sink under different carbon density levels of forest and shrub, a case in Dongting Lake Basin, China. _Remote Sens._**2022**, _14_, 2672.