A numerical study of cropland-atmosphere feedbacks by incorporating a crop growth module in the WRF model

This study investigates cropland-atmosphere feedbacks in the Midwestern United States. Growing crops impact local climate during the growing season by influencing heat, moisture and momentum exchange between the land and the atmosphere. These changes in turn affect the crop growth, thus completing a feedback loop. A computationally efficient modeling tool has been specifically developed to study these feedbacks. A vegetation module derived from a crop growth model SUCROS has been incorporated in the Weather Research Forecasting (WRF) model. This coupled model has the capability to explore cropland-atmosphere feedbacks at a high spatial resolution at mesoscale. Results from soybean fields in Nebraska and Illinois show that the crop growth depends directly on temperature, incoming shortwave radiation and precipitation. As the crops grow, they affect energy partitioning between sensible and latent heat leading to a change in the cloud cover and consequently changing incoming shortwave radiation, air temperature and precipitation. An increase in cloud cover reduces incoming shortwave radiation and hence photosynthesis, exerting a negative feedback. However, an increase in precipitation reduces water stress and promotes growth, resulting in a positive feedback. The net impact on crop growth is a nonlinear combination of these feedbacks.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Atmospheric Sciences

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Rastogi, Deeksha

Contributors dc:contributor

• Baidya Roy, Somnath

• cropland-atmosphere feedbacks
• feedback loop
• negative feedback
• positive feedback

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2012 Deeksha Rastogi

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/42448

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/42448