Impact of Aerosols on NPP in Basins: Case Study of WRF−Solar in the Jinghe River Basin

Abstract

Aerosols impact vegetation productivity by increasing diffuse radiation and changing temperature and humidity conditions. In this study, climate simulations of the Jinghe River Basin in 2020 based on aerosol and aerosol−free scenarios were carried out using the control variable method and the aerosol optical depth parameter as the external input data of Weather Report Forecast (WRF)−solar. These two output results were used as input data for the Carnegie Ames Stanford Approach (CASA) model to calculate the impact of aerosols on vegetation productivity. The results showed that WRF−solar accurately simulated changes in meteorological factors such as temperature, rainfall, solar radiation, and relative humidity in the Jinghe River Basin, with a correlation coefficient above 0.85. Aerosols significantly change the ratio of diffuse to direct radiation, act as a cooling function to reduce temperature, and affect rainfall by interacting with clouds. The scenario simulation results showed that under the influence of aerosols, the total solar radiation was reduced by 224.98 MJ/m2, accounting for 3.44% of the total annual radiation. Correspondingly, the average net primary productivity of vegetation in the Jinghe River Basin in 2020 decreased by 26.64 gC/m2, which was not conducive to vegetation photosynthesis and carbon fixation in the basin.