Response of local temperature variation to land cover and land use intensity changes in China over the last 30 years

In addition to land cover change (LCC), land use intensity change (LUIC) is another dominant pathway through which anthropogenic activities influence regional climate. Although the climatic effects of LCC have been investigated extensively, little is currently known about the effects of LUIC. In this study, we assess land use and cover change in China over the last three decades in terms of LCC and LUIC and investigate their climatic effects using the observation minus reanalysis method. Results indicate that nearly half of the stations have experienced LUIC, and the climatic response of these stations exhibit different or even opposite signals compared to those that have experienced LCC. With regard to LCC, it is found that urbanized stations generally exert a warming effect on local temperatures, whereas cropland expansion is likely to introduce a cooling effect. In the case of LUIC, the present study demonstrates that the intensification of grassland tends to lead to warming because of the decreased albedo. However, a cooling effect from the enhanced evapotranspiration (ET) dominates local temperature variations in intensified cropland stations. The absence of correlations between albedo/ET and land management changes in urban stations illustrates the inherent complexity of local climate change. The findings of the present study provide a deeper understanding of land–atmospheric interactions and could guide future land-use planning and management to achieve potential climatic benefits.