Influence of vegetation cover change on the decadal trend of summer seasonal air temperature in the Pannonian Basin

The influence of land surface vegetation on the atmosphere processes in the planetary boundary layer is of great importance for the study of weather and climatic conditions in the Earth’s climate system. Vegetation, as an integral part of the Earth’s climate system, has a great influence on the exchange of energy between land and the atmosphere and, consequently, a significant role in defining weather and climate patterns at the global, regional and local scales. However, due to the constant anthropogenic impact, this vegetation system is continuously changing mostly due to deforestation, afforestation, and forest fires which make it difficult to present them during the research of the Earth’s climate system. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of the regional vegetation change on the seasonal surface air temperature and was performed using the Max-Planck-Institute Earth System Model. The region of our research is located in the Pannonian Basin and is one of many regions in which the anthropogenic impact on geophysical changes in the environment is considerable. The study was carried out over a ten-year period, from 2002 to 2011, during which we showed that the change in the presence percentage between certain types of vegetation leads to warming up as well as cooling down of air during the summer season. We have also shown to what extent this change in vegetation has an impact on the surface air temperature trend as well as on the change in the albedo and flux of sensible heat.