The Characteristics and Controlling Factors of Water and Heat Exchanges over the Alpine Wetland in the East of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Alpine wetland is one of the typical underlying surfaces on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It plays a crucial role in runoff regulation. Investigations on the mechanisms of water and heat exchanges are necessary to understand the land surface processes over the alpine wetland. This study explores the characteristics of hydro-meteorological factors with in situ observations and uses the Community Land Model 5 to identify the main factors controlling water and heat exchanges. Latent heat flux and thermal roughness length were found to be greater in the warm season (June–August) than in the cold season (December–February), with a frozen depth of 20–40 cm over the alpine wetland. The transfers of heat fluxes were mainly controlled by longwave radiation and air temperature and affected by root distribution. Air pressure and stomatal conductance were also important to latent heat flux, and soil solid water content was important to sensible heat flux. Soil temperature was dominated by longwave radiation and air temperature, with crucial surface parameters of initial soil liquid water content and total water content. The atmospheric control factors transitioned to precipitation and air temperature for soil moisture, especially at the shallow layer (5 cm). Meanwhile, the more influential surface parameters were root distribution and stomatal conductance in the warm season and initial soil liquid water content and total water content in the cold season. This work contributes to the research on the land surface processes over the alpine wetland and is helpful to wetland protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]