Abstract
The area and vegetation coverage of forests in Changbai Mountain of China have changed significantly during the past decades. Understanding the effects of forests and forest coverage change on regional climate is important for predicting climate change in Changbai Mountain. Based on the satellite-derived land surface temperature (LST), albedo, evapotranspiration, leaf area index, and land-use data, this study analyzed the influences of forests and forest coverage changes on summer LST in Changbai Mountain. Results showed that the area and vegetation coverage of forests increased in Changbai Mountain from 2003 to 2017. Compared with open land, forests could decrease the summer daytime LST (LSTD) and nighttime LST (LSTN) by 1.10 °C and 0.07 °C, respectively. The increase in forest coverage could decrease the summer LSTD and LSTN by 0.66 °C and 0.04 °C, respectively. The forests and increasing forest coverage had cooling effects on summer temperature, mainly by decreasing daytime temperature in Changbai Mountain. The daytime cooling effect is mainly related to the increased latent heat flux caused by increasing evapotranspiration. Our results suggest that the effects of forest coverage change on climate should be considered in climate models for accurately simulating regional climate change in Changbai Mountain of China.
Highlights
IntroductionThey can protect biodiversity, maintain ecological balance, and play a significant role in the global carbon balance [1]
The increased forest was mainly transformed from open land (Figure 2a), and the transformed area accounted for 1.90% of the Changbai
This study analyzed the changes of forests and quantified, for the first time, the effects of both forest existence and forest coverage changes on summer surface temperatures in Changbai Mountain
Summary
They can protect biodiversity, maintain ecological balance, and play a significant role in the global carbon balance [1]. Global forests have experienced significant changes due to the effects of human activities and climate changes. These changes can regulate the regional climate through biogeophysical processes (albedo and evapotranspiration) [2,3] and biogeochemical processes (carbon sequestration). Previous studies have shown that forests impact climate differently during different seasons.
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