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Modelling the influence of land‐use changes on biophysical and biochemical interactions at regional and global scales
Author(s) -
DEVARAJU N.,
BALA G.,
NEMANI R.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
plant, cell and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 200
eISSN - 1365-3040
pISSN - 0140-7791
DOI - 10.1111/pce.12488
Subject(s) - afforestation , climate change , deforestation (computer science) , environmental science , greenhouse gas , land use, land use change and forestry , albedo (alchemy) , climate model , land use , global warming , global change , evapotranspiration , climatology , ecology , agroforestry , biology , art , performance art , computer science , art history , programming language , geology
Land‐use changes since the start of the industrial era account for nearly one‐third of the cumulative anthropogenic CO 2 emissions. In addition to the greenhouse effect of CO 2 emissions, changes in land use also affect climate via changes in surface physical properties such as albedo, evapotranspiration and roughness length. Recent modelling studies suggest that these biophysical components may be comparable with biochemical effects. In regard to climate change, the effects of these two distinct processes may counterbalance one another both regionally and, possibly, globally. In this article, through hypothetical large‐scale deforestation simulations using a global climate model, we contrast the implications of afforestation on ameliorating or enhancing anthropogenic contributions from previously converted (agricultural) land surfaces. Based on our review of past studies on this subject, we conclude that the sum of both biophysical and biochemical effects should be assessed when large‐scale afforestation is used for countering global warming, and the net effect on global mean temperature change depends on the location of deforestation/afforestation. Further, although biochemical effects trigger global climate change, biophysical effects often cause strong local and regional climate change. The implication of the biophysical effects for adaptation and mitigation of climate change in agriculture and agroforestry sectors is discussed.