Simulation of Effects of Land Use Change on Climate in China by a Regional Climate Model

Climate effects of land use change in China as simulated by a regional climate model (RegCM2)are investigated. The model is nested in one-way mode within a global coupled atmosphere-ocean model(CSIRO R21L9 AOGCM). Two multi-year simulations, one with current land use and the other withpotential vegetation cover, are conducted. Statistically significant changes of precipitation, surface airtemperature, and daily maximum and daily minimum temperature are analyzed based on the differencebetween the two simulations. The simulated effects of land use change over China include a decrease ofmean annual precipitation over Northwest China, a region with a prevalence of arid and semi-arid areas;an increase of mean annual surface air temperature over some areas; and a decrease of temperature alongcoastal areas. Summer mean daily maximum temperature increases in many locations, while winter meandaily minimum temperature decreases in East China and increases in Northwest China. The upper soilmoisture decreases significantly across China. The results indicate that the same land use change 05-cause different climate effects in different regions depending on the surrounding environment and climatecharacteristics.