Simulated effects of cropland expansion on seasonal temperatures over China

• Cropland expansion is one of the most important processes of human activities over China.
• The most obvious changes occurred in the maximum temperatures.
• Summer temperatures decreased in most parts of the Mainland over China.
• Summer net radiation flux decreased in southwest China and center China.

Human activities result in deforestation, expansion of cropland, grassland degradation, urbanization and other large-scale land use/cover change; among these, cropland expansion is one of the most important processes. To understand the effects of cropland expansion on seasonal temperatures over China, two 21-year simulations (spanning January 1, 1980–December 31, 2000), using the Regional Integrated Environmental Model System (RIEMS 2.0), were performed. The two simulations comprised current realistic land use/cover patterns and the previous vegetation cover without crop expansion, to investigate the impact of crop expansion on seasonal temperatures over China. The results showed that due to cropland expansion: (1) the most obvious changes occurred in the maximum temperatures, followed by the mean surface air temperatures, and the minimum temperatures were the least affected; (2) the summer mean maximum temperatures decreased in most parts of eastern China, and the temperatures changed significantly in most parts of northeast China, north China and central China (p < 0.05); (3) the surface air temperatures, maximum temperatures and minimum temperatures in summer decreased in the different regions by between −0.03 and −0.76 °C (the greatest temperature changes occurred in southwest China, and the smallest were in northeast China); (4) the net radiation flux and latent heat flux increased, while the sensible flux decreased, when semi-desert vegetation was replaced by dry land crops, in both summer and winter seasons, and the converse occurred when irrigated crops were replaced by dry land crops. In addition, the net radiation flux and sensible heat flux decreased, and the latent heat flux increased when short grass and tall grass were replaced dry land crops, as well as when dry land crops were replaced by irrigated crops.