No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The thesis examines land-use changes in a selected area of the Niagara Fruit Belt between 1954 and 1978. Part of the former township of Louth was chosen for investigation because it is located in the centre of the fruit belt, and is an area affected by several urban influences. Two detailed land-use maps were produced from aerial photograph interpretation. These maps reveal the many exchanges among agricultural land uses and the actual loss to urban and urban-related uses which occurred during the time span investigated. They indicate the loss of fruit land to non-agricultural uses is less than was anticipated. Increases in grape acreages have been implemented relatively close to the city of St. Catharines and the lost peach acreage is not entirely due to urbanization. A land-use change index was developed, based on total change per lot, for use in the quantitative analysis. The 1954 assessment roll provided the data on individual properties. Eight hypotheses were developed to account for the land-use changes. These were rejected, and it was suggested that the study area was undergoing a "normal” process of change, resulting from a combination of agricultural and urban forces. Further research is needed in order to understand more fully, the processes of land-use change in an area such as Louth. / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)

[EN] Climate change has occurred in Indonesia, for example, increasing the surface air temperature, including in the Upper Citarum watershed. This phenomenon leads to a lack of water in the dry season, which lowers agriculture production and remains a great obstacle for agricultural activity. Meanwhile, human activity has produced severe LULC changes within the Upper Citarum watershed. This occurs due to the demands of the ever-increasing population growth in the region. As a result, rice field and forested areas have been sacrificed to compensate the urban increment. The general objective of this dissertation is to understand and analyze the impact of climate and LULC changes on the hydrological process and their relationship with historical and future changes by using spatially distributed modeling on the Upper Citarum tropical catchment. The distributed model TETIS has been implemented to obtain the results of past and future scenarios on the water and sediment cycles. Annual historical bathymetries in the reservoir were used to calibrate and validate the sediment sub-model involving Miller's density evolution and trap efficiency of Brune's equation. Climate change has been considered under RCP 45 and RCP 85 trajectories. Meanwhile, to overcome the LULC problem, historical and future LULCs have been studied. LCM model was used to forecast the LULC in 2029. The forecasted results of LCM model show, on one hand, a continuation in the expansion of urban areas at the expense of the contiguous rice fields. The results determined that deforestation and urbanization were the most influential factors for the alteration of the hydrological and sedimentological processes in the Upper Citarum Catchment. Thus, it decreases evapotranspiration, increases water yield by increasing all its components; overland flow, interflow and baseflow. The changes in LULC are currently producing and will produce in the future, a relatively small increment of erosion rates, increasing the area exceeds Tsl erosion. Sediment yield will increase in 2029 as the result of erosion increment. Other LULC scenarios such as conservation, government plan and natural vegetation scenarios are expected to have an increment in total evapotranspiration, the water yield is expected to decrease. Flood regime, erosion and sedimentation are reduced dramatically. Hence, it leads to a massive increment of reservoir and hydropower lifetime signed by a very long period of the lifetime. Climate change alters the magnitude of water balance and can be identified from the shift of infiltration, overland flow, interflow, baseflow and water yield. Those increments finally change the flood regime, catchment erosion. RCP 85 trajectory gives a bigger impact compared to RCP 45 trajectory on hydrological and sediment cycle. . LULC change results a bigger impact on water balance, flood regime, erosion and sedimientation. The combination of climate and LULC change give a bigger impact on the flows of water balance, erosion, flood, sedimentation and will be catastrophic for the hydropower operation of the Saguling Dam. / [ES] El cambio climático ha afectado a Indonesia, por ejemplo, incrementando la temperatura del aire en la superficie, incluso en la cuenca del Upper Citarum. Este fenómeno conduce a la falta de agua en la estación seca, reduciendo la producción agrícola lo que es un gran obstáculo para su actividad. Además, la actividad humana ha producido cambios severos en LULC en la cuenca del Upper Citarum, Indonesia. Esto se debe al elevado crecimiento de la población en la región, por el que se han convertido campos de arroz y áreas boscosas en suelo urbano. De esta forma, el objetivo general de esta tesis es comprender y analizar el impacto de los cambios climáticos y LULC en el proceso hidrológico y su relación con los cambios históricos y futuros mediante el uso de modelos distribuidos espacialmente en la cuenca tropical del Upper Citarum. El modelo distribuido TETIS se ha implementado para obtener los resultados de escenarios pasados y futuros en los ciclos de agua y sedimentos. Se usaron batimetrías históricas anuales en el embalse para calibrar y validar el submodelo de sedimentos que involucra la evolución de la densidad de Miller y la eficiencia de retención de la ecuación de Brune. Con el fin de arrojar más luz sobre estos problemas, el escenario de cambio climático se ha implementado en base al modelo de cambio climático bajo las trayectorias RCP 45 y RCP 85. Además, para intentar resolver el problema LULC, también se ha implementado el LULC histórico y futuro. El modelo LCM se usó para pronosticar el LULC en 2029 y los resultados muestran, por un lado, una continuación en la expansión de las áreas urbanas a expensas de los arrozales contiguos. Los resultados determinaron que la deforestación y la urbanización fueron los factores más influyentes para la alteración de los procesos hidrológicos y sedimentológicos en la cuenca del Upper Citarum. Por lo tanto, disminuye la evapotranspiración, aumenta la producción de agua al aumentar todos sus componentes; escorrentía, interflujo y flujo base. Los cambios en LULC están produciendo y producirán, un incremento relativamente pequeño de las tasas de erosión, aumentando el área excede la erosión de Tsl. La producción de sedimentos aumentará en 2029 como resultado del incremento de la erosión. Se espera que otros escenarios de LULC como la conservación, el plan gubernamental y los escenarios de vegetación natural tengan un incremento en la evapotranspiración total, y se espera que la producción de agua disminuya. El régimen de inundación, la erosión y la sedimentación se reducen drásticamente. Por lo tanto, habrá un incremento de la vida útil del embalse y la energía hidroeléctrica. El cambio climático altera la magnitud del equilibrio hídrico y puede identificarse a partir del cambio de infiltración, escorrentía, interflujo, flujo base y producción de agua. Esos incrementos finalmente cambian el régimen de inundación y erosión de la cuenca. La trayectoria RCP 85 tiene un mayor impacto en comparación con la trayectoria RCP 45 en el ciclo hidrológico y de sedimentos. El cambio de LULC tiene un mayor impacto en el balance hídrico, el régimen de inundación, la erosión y la sedimentación. La combinación del cambio climático y LULC tiene un mayor impacto en los flujos de equilibrio hídrico, erosión, inundación, sedimentación y será catastrófico para la operación hidroeléctrica de la presa Saguling. / [CA] El canvi climàtic ha afectat Indonèsia, per exemple, incrementant la temperatura de l'aire en la superfície, inclús en la conca de l'Upper Citarum. Aquest fenomen conduïx a la falta d'aigua en l'estació seca, reduint la producció agrícola, el que és un gran obstacle per a la seua activitat. A més, l'activitat humana ha produït canvis severs en LULC en la conca de l'Upper Citarum, Indonèsia. Açò es deu a l'elevat creixement de la població en la regió, motiu pel qual s'han anat convertint camps d'arròs i àrees boscoses en sòl urbà. D'aquesta manera, l'objectiu general d'aquesta tesi és comprendre i analitzar l'impacte dels canvis climàtics i LULC en el procés hidrològic i la seua relació amb els canvis històrics i futurs per mitjà de l'ús de models distribuïts espacialment en la conca tropical de l'Upper Citarum. El model distribuït TETIS s'ha implementat per a obtindre els resultats d'escenaris passats i futurs en els cicles de l'aigua i sediments. Es van usar batimetries històriques anuals en l'embassament per a calibrar i validar el submodel de sediments que involucra l'evolució de la densitat de Miller i l'eficiència de retenció de l'equació de Brune. Amb la finalitat de donar més llum a aquests problemes, l'escenari de canvi climàtic s'ha implementat basant-se en el model de canvi climàtic davall les trajectòries RCP 45 i RCP 85. A més, per a intentar resoldre el problema LULC, també s'ha implementat el LULC històric i futur. El model LCM es va usar per a pronosticar el LULC en 2029 i els resultats mostren, d'una banda, una continuació en l'expansió de les àrees urbanes a costa dels arrossars contigus. Els resultats van determinar que la desforestació i la urbanització van ser els factors més influents per a l'alteració dels processos hidrològics i sedimentològics en la conca de l'Upper Citarum. Per tant, disminuïx l'evapotranspiració, augmenta la producció d'aigua en augmentar tots els seus components; escorrentia, interflux i flux base. Els canvis en LULC estan produint i produiran, un increment relativament xicotet de les taxes d'erosió, augmentant l'àrea excedix l'erosió de Tsl. La producció de sediments augmentarà en 2029 com a resultat de l'increment de l'erosió. S'espera que altres escenaris de LULC com la conservació, el pla governamental i els escenaris de vegetació natural tinguen un increment en l'evapotranspiració total, i s'espera que la producció d'aigua disminuïsca. El règim d'inundació, l'erosió i la sedimentació es reduïxen dràsticament. Per tant, hi haurà un increment de la vida útil de l'embassament i l'energia hidroelèctrica. El canvi climàtic altera la magnitud de l'equilibri hídric i pot identificar-se a partir del canvi d'infiltració, escorrentia, interflux, flux base i producció d'aigua. Eixos increments finalment canvien el règim d'inundació i erosió de la conca. La trajectòria RCP 85 té un major impacte en comparació amb la trajectòria RCP 45 en el cicle hidrològic i de sediments. El canvi de LULC té un major impacte en el balanç hídric, el règim d'inundació, l'erosió i la sedimentació. La combinació del canvi climàtic i LULC té un major impacte en els fluxos d'equilibri hídric, erosió, inundació, sedimentació i serà catastròfic per a l'operació hidroelèctrica de la presa Saguling. / thank the Directorate General of Higher Education of Indonesia (DIKTI), for granting me the opportunity to pursue PhD study and adventure in Europe. The authors are also thankful to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the research projects TETISMED (CGL2014-58127-C3-3-R) and TETISCHANGE (RTI2018-093717-B-I00). / Siswanto, SY. (2020). Impact Evaluation of Future Climate and Land Use Scenarios on Water and Sediment Regime using Distributed Hydrological Modelling in a Tropical Rainforest Catchment in West Java (Indonesia) [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/153152

Many land systems experience massive ecological pressure due to ongoing land use changes for the increasing demand for food, but also need to sustain essential ecosystem services. Computer-based model scenarios help to anticipate the consequences of different socio-economic future transition pathways for humans and nature and evaluate trade-offs between various demands on land. In many grassland ecosystems, the processes of agricultural abandonment in less attractive regions coexist with agricultural intensification in others. At the same time, the ecological value of natural grassland is rarely considered in decision making. By using the CLUMondo land use modelling framework I mapped the future composition of the land system of Orenburg province under five socio-economic scenarios with different ranges of food production intensification. The outcomes allowed me to identify hotspot areas for arable land expansion, grassland restoration, and agricultural abandonment. Most agricultural expansion is prevalent in three scenarios with high ambition for food production, and, without active policy interventions, some natural grassland areas in northern parts of the province are likely to be converted to cropland. In a scenario with low demand for food production, large areas in southern parts could be abandoned creating good opportunities for grassland restoration on former cropland, but possibly having negative socio-economic consequences, such as people’s migration to northern parts of the province. In a scenario with lesser ambition for crop production, but an increase in meat production, agricultural abandonment is less widespread and will even include some additional conversion of cropland to pasture. With appropriate policies aimed at supporting sustainable grazing practices (together with favourable global socio-economic conditions), such scenario can provide an opportunity for satisfying demands for food, providing livelihoods, and ensuring the flow of ecosystem services by grassland ecosystems.

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Forests in South Africa have had a long history of human utilization and disturbance, and are under threat from a variety of anthropogenic land use changes. Foremost of these are deforestation and forest degradation, impacting the species native to these forests. The aims of this study were to determine changes in the distribution of forest dependent bird species according to the South African Bird Atlas Project; to relate these changes to changes in land-use; to identify links between these changes; to determine the extent, location and causes of the decline of each forest dependent bird species; and to identify current risks to forest dependent bird species in South Africa. Range data on 57 forest dependent bird species from SABAP1 (1987-1992) and SABAP2 (2007-present) were analyzed. Of these, 28 species were found to have declining ranges. Thirty sites across South Africa were identified as being most at risk, with all having experienced a loss of more than 10 of the 57 forest dependent bird species between SABAP1 and SABAP2. The range change data of the 28 species with decreasing ranges were correlated with data on changes in land cover over the same time period to infer relationships between changes in land use and change in bird ranges. Occupancy modelling was done to determine which land cover types affect extinction and initial presence. Individual species characteristics were analyzed to determine links between characteristics and response to land use change. A pan-European trait-based risk assessment framework was applied to all 57 species to identify habitats and species most at risk, as well as the most important threats to species persistence. Results showed that natural vegetation decreased in 67% of sites, while plantations and cultivation increased in 50% of sites. Occupancy modelling showed extinction likelihood to increase with plantations in some species, while plantations mitigated extinction likelihood in other species. Urbanization and cultivation likewise mitigated extinction likelihood in some species. Natural vegetation was replaced by cultivation, while cultivation was replaced by urbanization. The number of species lost increased with a loss of natural vegetation. Twenty two of the thirty sites experienced deforestation of indigenous forests between 2000 and 2013/2014; changes in natural vegetation in these sites can be attributed primarily to deforestation, and a loss of plantations. While most at-risk sites were in the Eastern Cape, there was no geographic grouping of species loss or of land use change. Most species lost were birds of prey or insectivores, and species characteristics and habitat preferences determined the sites from which they were lost. The Cape parrot (Poicephalus robustus), rufous-chested sparrowhawk (Accipiter rufiventris) and the migratory Eurasian golden oriole (Oriolus oriolus) suffered the largest declines in range size and are thought to be most at risk. Montane forests were found to be more at risk than other forest types. The major risks facing montane forests were increased abundance of small predators, increased fire suppression, increased soil management, removal of deadwood and reduced diversity of tree species. These threats are all products of plantation forestry and local harvesting. Nesting risk was higher than foraging risk for all species, indicating that nesting habitat should be better preserved. Half of South Africa’s forest dependent bird species have declining ranges, with the loss of these species most prominent in the Eastern Cape. Natural vegetation loss, comprising mostly recent deforestation; increased cultivation and urbanization; and changes in plantation cover are thought to be the main factors determining these declines. Montane forests in particular should be better protected to preserve forest dependent species, and the negative effects of plantation forestry and local harvesting should be mitigated. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid-Afrika het ‘n lang geskiedenis van woude wat deur mense gebruik, asook vernietig word. Woude word bedreig deur verskeie menslike grondgebruike en veranderinge. Die mees vooraanstaande van die bedreigings is ontbossing en woud verdunning, wat ‘n invloed het op inheemse spesies in die woude. Die doelwitte van hierdie studie was om veranderinge in die verspreiding van bos-afhanklike voëlspesies vas te stel volgens die Suid Afrikaanse Voël Atlas Projek; om hierdie veranderinge te verband met veranderinge in grondgebruik; om verbande tussen hierdie veranderinge te identifiseer; om die mate, die plek en die oorsake van die agteruitgang van elke bos-afhanklike voëlspesies te bepaal; en om huidige risiko's aan die bos afhanklik voëlspesies in Suid-Afrika te identifiseer. Trefwydte inligting oor 57 woud afhanklike voëlspesies van SABAP1 (1987-1992) en SABAP2 (2007-nou) was geanaliseer. Daar was gevind dat vanuit die spesies, het 28 ‘n afneming in trefwydte ervaar. Dertig terreine in Suid-Afrika was uitgeken as dié met die hoogste risiko, met ‘n verlies van meer as 10 van die 57 woud afhanklike voëlspesies tussen SABAP1 en SABAP2. Die trefwydte inligting van die 28 spesies met ‘n afnemende trefwydte was gekorreleer met inligting oor veranderinge in grond bedekking oor dieselfde tydperk om verhoudings tussen veranderinge in grond gebruik en veranderinge in voël trefwydtes aftelei. Besetting modellering was gedoen om te bepaal watter tipes grond bedekking beinvloed uitwissing en aanvanklike teenwoordigheid. Kenmerke van individuele spesies is ontleed om verbande tussen kenmerke en reaksie op verandering in grondgebruik te bepaal. ‘n Pan-Europese eienskap gebaseerde risiko-analise raamwerk is toegepas op die 57 spesies om die spesies en habitatte met die grootse risiko te identifiseer, asook die belangrikste bedreigings vir spesies-volharding. Die resultate het gewys dat natuurlike plantegroei het verminder in 67% van terreine, terwyl plantasie en verbouing vermeerder het in 50% van terreine. Besetting-modellering het gewys dat waarskynlikheid van uitwissing vermeerder met plantasies in sommige spesies, terwyl plantasies die waarskynlikheid van uitwissing verminder het in ander spesies. Verstedeliking en verbouing het ook die waarskynlikheid van uitwissing verminder in sommige spesies. Natuurlike plantegroei was vervang deur verbouing, terwyl verbouing vervang is deur verstedeliking. Die aantal spesies verlies het vermeerder met die vermindering van natuurlike plantegroei. Twee en twintig van die dertig terreine het ontbossing van inheemse woude ervaar tussen 2000 en 2013/2014. Veranderinge in natuurlike plantegroei in die terreine is meestal as gevolg van ontbossing, en ‘n vermindering van plantasies. Terwyl meeste van die hoë risiko terreine in die Oos-Kaap was, was daar geen geografiese groepering van spesies vermindering of grondgebruik veranderinge nie. Meeste spesies wat vernietig is was roofvoëls of insectivore, en spesies kenmerke en habitat voorkeure het die terreine bepaal waaruit hulle verloor is. Die grootpapegaai (Poicephalus robustus), rooiborssperwer (Accipiter rufiventris) en die trekvoël Europese wielewaal (Oriolus oriolus) het die grootste vermindering in trefwydte grootte ervaar, en is vermoedelik die grootste risiko. Bergwoude was gevind om meer in gevaar te wees as ander woud tipes. Die grootste risikos wat bergwoude beïnvloed het was ‘n toenemende hoeveelheid klein roofdiere, verhoogde vuur onderdrukking, verhoogde grondbestuur, verwydering van dooie hout, en verlaagde diversiteit van boomspesies. Hierdie bedreigings is almal as gevolg van plantasie bosbou en plaaslike oes. Nes-risiko was hoër as kos soek risiko vir alle spesies, wat aandui dat nes-habitat beter bewaar moet word. Die helfte van Suid-Afrika se woud-afhanklike-voëlspesies het dalende trefwydtes, met die verlies van hierdie spesies mees opvallend in die Oos-Kaap. Die verlies van natuurlike plantegroei, as gevolg van onlangse ontbossing; verhoogde verbouing en verstedeliking; en veranderinge in plantasie bedekking is vermoedelik die hooffaktore wat die vermindering van voëlspesies veroorsaak. Veral bergwoude moet beter beskerm word om woud-afhanklike-voëlspesies te bewaar en die negatiewe invloede van plantasiebosbou en plaaslike oes te verminder.

The management of New Zealand’s freshwater resources has come under increasing pressure from different industrial and environmental stakeholders. Land use change and the pressure it can put on water resources has been a significant issue regarding resource management in New Zealand. A significant mechanism driving land use change has been the growth of forestry, dairy farming, and other agricultural industries. Improvements in agricultural and forestry science and irrigation techniques have allowed new, previously less arable areas of New Zealand to be subject to land use change, such as the conversion of tussock grassland to pasture in steep, mountainous regions in the South Island. Studies regarding the effects of land use change in such catchments, especially with focus on flood hydrology, appear to be limited, despite the importance of managing catchment headwaters to minimise flood risk downstream. The TopNet model was used in this research project to evaluate the potential effects of land use change on flood hydrology in mountain catchments. It is a semi-distributed continuous rainfall-runoff model developed by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA). It has been widely used in New Zealand, and applications have included modelling water yield and the effect of climate change in catchment networks. However, it was not developed specifically for predicting flood flows. Hence, testing the model for flood peak prediction in mountainous catchments was also performed, and may show that TopNet can be a useful tool in resource management in New Zealand. The Ahuriri and Pelorus River catchments were used in this investigation. Both are steep catchments located in the South Island. The Ahuriri River catchment, in the Waitaki Basin on the eastern side of the Southern Alps, is a semi-arid catchment dominated by tussock grassland. The surrounding catchments are heavily influenced by infrastructure for hydroelectric power (HEP) generation and more recently irrigation for dairy farming. The Pelorus River catchment is located at the northern end of the South Island. It is primarily covered in native forest, but adjacent catchments are subject to agricultural and forestry development. The ability of the TopNet model for each catchment to predict flood flows were tested using a selection of historical flood events. Rainfall input to the model was at a daily timestep from the virtual climate station network (VCSN), and the method of disaggregating the daily estimate into an hourly rainfall series to be used by the model was found to have a significant influence on flood prediction. Where an accurate historical rainfall record was provided from a rainfall gauge station within the catchments, the disaggregation of the daily rainfall estimate based on the station data produced a significantly more accurate flood prediction when compared to predictions made using a stochastic disaggregation of the daily rainfall estimate. The TopNet models were modified to reflect land use change scenarios: the conversion of tussock grassland to pasture and the afforestation of tussock in the Ahuriri River catchment, and the conversion of forested land to pasture and the harvest of plantation forestry in the Pelorus River catchment. Following a past study into modelling the effects of land use change using TopNet, three key model parameters were modified to reflect each land use scenario: saturated hydraulic conductivity KS, canopy storage capacity, and the canopy enhancement factor. Past studies suggested a wide range of suitable values for KS, although also acknowledged that KS depends heavily on the specific catchment characteristics. A sensitivity analysis showed that KS had a significant influence on flood peak prediction in TopNet. It is recommended that further investigation be conducted into suitable values for KS. TopNet appeared to predict the effect of land use change on flood magnitude in mountainous catchments conservatively. Past studies of land use change suggested that the effect on flood flows should be significant, whereas TopNet generally predicted small changes in flood peaks for the scenarios in each catchment. However, this may suggest that the topography, geology, and soil properties of steep catchments are more important to flood hydrology than land cover. Further investigation into the effect of such catchment characteristics is recommended. Nevertheless, TopNet was shown to have the potential to be a useful tool for evaluating and managing the effects of land use change on the flood hydrology of mountainous catchments in New Zealand.

No description available.

Alterations to the land surface can be attributed to both human activity and natural variability. Human activities, such as urbanization and irrigation, can change the conditions of the land surface by altering albedo, soil moisture, aerodynamic roughness length, the partitioning of net radiation into sensible and latent heat, and other surface characteristics. On the other hand, natural variability, manifested through changes in atmospheric circulation, can also induce land surface changes. These regional scale land surface changes, induced either by humans or natural variability, can effectively modify atmospheric conditions through land-atmosphere interactions. However, only in recent decades have numerical models begun to include representations of the critical processes driving changes at the land surface, and their associated effects on the overlying atmosphere. In this work we explore three mechanisms by which changes to the land surface–both anthropogenic and naturally induced–impact the overlying atmosphere and affect regional hydroclimate. The first land-atmosphere interaction mechanism explored here is land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) due to urban expansion. Such changes alter the surface albedo, heat capacity, and thermal conductivity of the surface. Consequently, the energy balance in urban regions is different from that of natural surfaces. To evaluate the changes in regional hydroclimate that could arise due to projected urbanization in the Phoenix–Tucson corridor, Arizona, my first study applied the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) with an Urban Canopy Model (UCM; which includes a detailed urban radiation scheme) coupled to the Noah land surface model to this region. Land-cover changes were represented using land-cover data for 2005 and projections to 2050, and historical North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) data were used to specify the lateral boundary conditions. Results suggest that temperature changes are well defined, reflecting the urban heat island (UHI) effect within areas experiencing LULCC, whereas changes in precipitation are less certain (statistically less robust). However, the study indicates the likelihood of reductions in precipitation over the mountainous regions northeast of Phoenix and decreased evening precipitation over the newly urbanized area. The second land-atmosphere interaction mechanism explored here is irrigation which, while being an important anthropogenic factor affecting the local to regional water cycle, is not typically represented in regional climate models. In this (second) study, I incorporated an irrigation scheme into the Noah land surface scheme coupled to the WRF model. Using a newly developed water vapor tracer package (developed by Miguez-Macho et al. 2013), the study tracks the path of water vapor that evapotranspires from the irrigated regions. To assess the impact of irrigation over the California Central Valley (CCV) on the regional climate of the U.S. Southwest, I ran six simulations (for three dry and three wet years), both with and without the irrigation scheme. Incorporation of the irrigation scheme resulted in simulated surface air temperature and humidity that were closer to observations, decreased the depth of the planetary boundary layer over the CCV, and increased the convective available potential energy. The results indicated an overall increase in precipitation over the Sierra Nevada Range and the Colorado River Basin during the summer, with water vapor rising from the irrigated region moving mainly northeastward and contributing to precipitation in Nevada and Idaho. The results also indicate an increase in precipitation on the windward side of the Sierra Nevada Range and over the Colorado River Basin. The former is possibly linked to a sea-breeze type circulation near the CCV, while the latter is likely associated with a wave pattern related to latent heat release over the moisture transport belt. In the third study, I investigated the role of large-scale and local-scale processes associated with heat waves using the Modern Era-Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) reanalysis, and evaluate the performance of the regional climate model ensemble used in the North America Regional Climate Change Program (NARCCAP) in reproducing these processes. The Continental US is divided into different climate divisions (following the convention of the National Climate Assessment) to investigate different mechanisms associated with heat waves. At the large scale, warm air advection from terrestrial sources is a driving factor for heat waves in the Northeast and Midwest. Over the western United States, reduced maritime cool air advection results in local warming. At the local scale, an antecedent precipitation deficit leads to the continuous drying of soil moisture, more energy being partitioned into sensible heat flux and acting to warm surface air temperatures, especially over the Great Plains. My analysis indicates that the NARCCAP simulated large-scale meteorological patterns and temporal evolution of antecedent local-scale terrestrial conditions are very similar to those of MERRA. However, NARCCAP overestimates the magnitude and underestimates the frequency of Northeastern and Midwestern US heat waves, partially due to anomalous heat advection through large-scale forcing. Overall, the aforementioned studies show that utilization of new parameterizations in land surface models, such as the urban canopy scheme and the irrigation scheme, allow us to understand the detailed physical mechanisms by which anthropogenic changes in the land surface can affect regional hydroclimate, and may thus help with informed decision making and climate adaptation/mitigation. In addition to anthropogenic changes of the land surface, humans are of course affecting the overlying atmosphere. Currently, NARCCAP is the best available tool we have to help us understand the effects of changes greenhouse gas induced climate change at the regional scale. The regional climate models participating in NARCCAP are able to realistically represent the dominant processes associated with heat waves, including the atmospheric circulation changes and the land-atmosphere interactions that drive heat waves. This lends credibility, when analyzing the projections of these models with increased GHG emissions, to the assessment of changes in heat waves under a future climate.