%0 Journal Article
%T Regional Climate Effects of Conversion from Grassland to Forestland in Southeastern China
%A Rui Yu
%A Xinsheng Wang
%A Zhe Yan
%A Haiming Yan
%A Qunou Jiang
%J Advances in Meteorology
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/630953
%X The land-use and land-cover change (LUCC) is the synthetic result of natural processes and human activities; it largely depends on the surface vegetation conditions, and the mutual conversion among land cover types can accelerate or alleviate the regional and global climate changes. Aiming at analyzing the regional climatic effects of the conversion from grassland to forestland, especially in the long term perspective, we carried out the comparison simulation using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model in Fujian province, results indicated that this conversion had a significant influence on the regional climate; the annual average temperature decreased by 0.11¡ãC and the annual average precipitation increased by 46£¿mm after 11.2% of the grassland was converted into the forestland in the study area from 2000 to 2008. In the future (form 2010 to 2050), the conversion from grassland to forestland is significant under two representative concentration pathways (RCPs) (RCP6 and RCP8.5); the spatial pattern of this conversion under the two scenarios is simulated by dynamic of land system (DLS); then, the regional climate effects of the conversion are simulated using WRF model. 1. Introduction Under the coupled impact of natural processes and human activities over the past century, the global vegetation system has changed correspondingly, which in turn influenced the regional and global climate. The nature of the vegetation affects the surface fluxes of radiation, heat, moisture, and momentum, so modifying the vegetation cover can change the lower boundary conditions of the atmosphere and hence impact the climate [1]. Besides, changes in vegetative cover, especially the change of vegetation types, are associated with changes in plants¡¯ morphology and physiology, which could, in the absence of other force, alter the surface fluxes and consequently the climate both at regional and global scales [2]. In addition, forests and grasses are the most two typical vegetation types on the Earth; however, mankind has significantly changed the Earth surface by transforming natural ecosystems (forests and grasslands) [3]. Furthermore, the conversion of forestland and grassland plays an important role in the climate system, and redistributions of forest and other vegetation (due, e.g., to extensive logging) could initiate important climate feedbacks [4, 5]. And a significant difference in surface parameter (such as albedo) between forest and grassland results in reduced absorbed radiation for the grasslands, especially during the snow hawing season (spring) [6].
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/amete/2013/630953/