125 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 Z. Shang et al. (eds.), Carbon Management for Promoting Local Livelihood in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) Region, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20591-1_7 Chapter 7 Wetlands as a Carbon Sink: Insight into the Himalayan Region Awais Iqbal and Zhanhuan Shang Abstract The Hindu-Kush Himalaya region’s land cover is comprised of 54% rangeland, 25% agricultural land, 14% forest, 5% permanent snow and 1% water bodies. The Himalayans contain some of the largest water reservoirs, which are critical for HKH countries. Amidst these, wetlands have remained important to eco- system services and the overall water cycle of the basins. Beside their cultural and provisioning amenities, wetlands are important carbon reservoirs, accounting for 20–30% of the global carbon pool. They act as a sink for atmospheric carbon, thus can infuence GHG emissions, especially CH 4 , and, thus, should be managed prop- erly. However, substantial data gaps remain in quantifying carbon sequestration and the potential of CH 4 emission. Furthermore, studies on CH 4 fuxes in high-altitude wetlands, particularly in remote areas, remain inconclusive. Hence, more research is required to understand the role of wetlands in term of GHG emissions and carbon sequestration. Keywords Wetland · Methane · Hindu-Kush Himalaya · Carbon sink A. Iqbal School of Life Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China Z. Shang (*) School of Life Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China Key Laboratory of Restoration Ecology of Cold Area in Qinghai Province, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu, China e-mail: shangzhh@lzu.edu.cn