The Response of Radiative Forcing to High Spatiotemporally Resolved Land-Use Change and Transition From 1982 to 2010 in China

Significant uncertainties remain in the estimate of radiative forcing (RF) induced by land-use change (LUC), partially attributable to the lack of reliable LUC data with a high spatiotemporal resolution. We implemented a high spatiotemporally resolved LUC data set in an earth system model (OSCAR) to examine the response of RF to LUC from 1982 to 2010 in China. Results were compared with the RF estimated using a low spatiotemporally resolved LUC inventory employed previously. The updated LUC data set reduces negative RF by -3.8% from 2000 to 2010 due to the changes in surface albedo subject to LU transition. The simulated mean RF driven by CO2 associated with LUC from 1982 to 2010 using a high spatiotemporally resolved LUC data set reached 0.074 W m(-2), considerably higher than 0.022 W m(-2) of mean RF derived from the low spatiotemporally resolved LUC inventory, implying increasing net RF and more substantial LUC induced warming.

Automated summary

The estimate of radiative forcing induced by land-use change is still uncertain due to the lack of reliable data with high spatiotemporal resolution. By comparing high and low resolution data sets, it was found that the updated data set reduces negative radiative forcing and indicates higher radiative forcing and more substantial warming.