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Vegetation and climate variability: a GCM modelling study

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Abstract

Vegetation is known to interact with the other components of the climate system over a wide range of timescales. Some of these interactions are now being taken into account in models for climate prediction. This study is an attempt to describe and quantify the climate–vegetation coupling at the interannual timescale, simulated with a General Circulation Model (HadSM3) coupled to a dynamic global vegetation model (TRIFFID). Vegetation variability is generally strongest in semi-arid areas, where it is driven by precipitation variability. The impact of vegetation variability on climate is analysed by using multivariate regressions of boundary layer fluxes and properties, with respect to soil moisture and vegetation fraction. Dynamic vegetation is found to significantly increase the variance in the surface sensible and latent heat fluxes. Vegetation growth always causes evapotranspiration to increase, but its impact on sensible heat is less straightforward. The feedback of vegetation on sensible heat is positive in Australia, but negative in the Sahel and in India. The sign of the feedback depends on the competing influences, at the gridpoint scale, of the turbulent heat exchange coefficient and the surface (stomatal) water conductance, which both increase with vegetation growth. The impact of vegetation variability on boundary layer potential temperature and relative humidity are shown to be small, implying that precipitation persistence is not strongly modified by vegetation dynamics in this model. We discuss how these model results may improve our knowledge of vegetation–atmosphere interactions and help us to target future model developments.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by the UK Government Meteorological Research Program and the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under contract PEDC 7/12/377, and EU contract nr EVK2-CT-2002-00153 on Models and Observations to Test climate Feedbacks (MOTIF).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research, Met Office, Fitzroy Road, Exeter, EX13PB, UK

    Michel Crucifix, Richard A. Betts & Peter M. Cox

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  1. Michel Crucifix
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  2. Richard A. Betts
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  3. Peter M. Cox
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Correspondence to Michel Crucifix.

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Crucifix, M., Betts, R.A. & Cox, P.M. Vegetation and climate variability: a GCM modelling study. Clim Dyn 24, 457–467 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-004-0504-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-004-0504-z

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