Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
This chapter includes three case studies. The first one attempts to predict the
potential effects of artificial vegetation change on the regional climate in Jiangxi
Province. Based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, a
comparative analysis is carried out on the future temperature and precipitation
under four hypothetical vegetation cover scenarios. The second case study simu-
lates the land cover in the semiarid grassland area of China under the future
scenarios with the DLS model and analyzes the effects of land cover conversion on
the energy balance through the numerical simulation, which may provide some
valuable information for the land use planning and climate change alleviation. As
for the biosphere feedback on regional climate in Northwest China, the potential
effects of grassland degradation on regional climate have also been explored in the
overgrazing area of Northwest China from 2010 to 2040 in the third case studies.
5.1 A Scenario-Based Analysis of Afforestation and Its
Impact on the Regional Surface Climate in Jiangxi
Province, China
Jiangxi Province is covered by large forestry area, and a series of afforestation
project has been carried out in Jiangxi Province. The Green for Grain project is
implemented in 2000, while ''one big and four small'' project has been in full
operation since 2008. As we know, these projects influence land use conversion
and climate change (Deng et al.
2011a
,
b
). The assessment of potential effects of
artificial vegetation change on the regional climate in Jiangxi Province is mean-
ingful for climate change mitigation and rational land management.
The forestry area in Jiangxi Province had exceeded 63.1 % by 2010, which is
much higher than the national average level (Deng et al.
2011a
,
b
). The area of
needle-leaved forestry area reaches 5.65 million hm
2
, accounting for 68.1 % of the
arbor area and 52.7 % of the total forestry area in Jiangxi Province, and it will
continue to increase due to afforestation. Meanwhile, the broadleaf forest recovery
will be one of the competitors of the needleleaf forest expansion due to the favorable
water and heat resources. There are currently five kinds of forests in Jiangxi Prov-
ince, i.e., the deciduous broadleaf forest, deciduous needleleaf forest, evergreen
broadleaf forest, evergreen needleleaf forest, and mixed forest. The needleleaf
forests have expanded due to the afforestation in this region, however, the broadleaf
forests are recovering owing to the suitable climatic conditions. Based on the
simulation with WRF model, we carry out a comparative analysis on the future
temperature and precipitation under four hypothetical vegetation cover scenarios.
