Search

Measurements of albedo were obtained along a 100 km transect in east central Illinois using a combination of airborne and ground-based radiometers. Analysis of the measurements focused on three different land use categories: agricultural cropland, prairie grass, and woodland. The value of albedo over the woodland after a fresh snowfall was 0.30, which is somewhat higher than what has been measured in a previous experiment over an aspen forest but similar to previous measurements over a deciduous forest in the eastern United States. The albedo values over the grassland were similar to past experiments and similar to the values over cropland. The drifting that accompanied one of the snow events caused large differences in albedo during snowmelt compared to another event with minimal drifting but similar average snow depth. The albedo was lower over the melting wind-blown snow cover than for a snow cover of similar average depth that fell under light wind conditions. These large differences suggest that inclusion of meteorological conditions during snowfall in snow parameterizations may appreciably increase their accuracy. Different tillage practices used in the agricultural fields also caused measurable differences in albedo during the snowmelt phase.

The climate change (CC) caused by increase in atmospheric concentration of CO2 and other Greenhouse Gases (GHGs), can be addressed through adaptation and mitigation strategies. Adaptation consists of strategies which minimize vulnerability to CC. The objective is to increase resilience of the ecosystems and communities through adoption of specific sustainable land management (SLM) techniques that have adaptive benefits. On the other hand, the goal of mitigation strategies is to enhance soil and vegetation (land) sinks for absorbing atmospheric CO2 and to minimize net emissions. In the context of the resource-poor and small landholders of the developing countries, adaptation to CC is essential. Adaptation strategies are needed to enhance the positive and reduce the negative effects of CC. Adaptation is also needed because complete mitigation of CC may never occur. The strategy is to adopt those SLM technologies which have both adaptation and mitigation impacts at multiple scales (household, community, and watershed, national, global). There are four major areas in the tropics and sub-tropics where adoption of SLM technologies can help to both adapt to and mitigate CC: (i) tropical forest ecosystems (TFEs), (ii) tropical savannah and rangeland ecosystems (TSREs), (iii) world cropland soils, and (iv) salinized and degraded/desertified lands. Nonetheless, adoption of SLM technologies in the temperate regions (North America, Europe, Australia, Japan) is also important to adapting to CC. However, this report focuses on SLM options for developing countries of the tropics and sub-tropics.