The Effect of Changing Land Cover on the Surface Energy Balance

Chichester

1992

Unselbständiges Werk

13218

200076347

The different longwave and shortwave components of the surface radiation balance are discussed. Denudation or partial deforestation cause an increase in the ratio of reflected to incident radiatio at the earth's surface. Consequently net radiation will decrease and the ratio of sensible to latent heat flux (the Bowen ratio) will increase. Areas which in their original state are sources of latent heat, become foci for the generation of large amounts of sensible heat. This phenomenon has also been observed after partial deforestation. Particularly in areas of tropical rain forest the albedo effect of denudation is expected to have a great impact on local, regional and possibly global climate. Inclusion of this feature in global climate sensitivity models has received little attention so far.