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Exploring hydroclimatic change disparity via the Budyko framework
Author(s) -
Velde Ype,
Vercauteren Nikki,
Jaramillo Fernando,
Dekker Stefan C.,
Destouni Georgia,
Lyon Steve W.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
hydrological processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.222
H-Index - 161
eISSN - 1099-1085
pISSN - 0885-6087
DOI - 10.1002/hyp.9949
Subject(s) - climate change , environmental science , ecosystem , water cycle , vegetation (pathology) , adaptation (eye) , water resources , climate model , agriculture , global change , climatology , physical geography , ecology , geography , biology , geology , medicine , pathology , neuroscience
The Budyko framework characterizes landscape water cycles as a function of climate. We used this framework to identify regions with contrasting hydroclimatic change during the past 50 years in Sweden. This analysis revealed three distinct regions: the mountains, the forests, and the areas with agriculture. Each region responded markedly different to recent climate and anthropogenic changes, and within each region, we identified the most sensitive subregions. These results highlight the need for regional differentiation in climate change adaptation strategies to protect vulnerable ecosystems and freshwater resources. Further, the Budyko curve moved systematically towards its water and energy limits, indicating augmentation of the water cycle driven by changing vegetation, climate and human interactions. This finding challenges the steady state assumption of the Budyko curve and therefore its ability to predict future water cycles. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.