Quantifying spatiotemporal variations and driving factors of the energy budget in the Loess Plateau

The land surface energy exchange indirectly describes the energy forcing effect of solar radiation on the atmospheric system. Exploring the exchange process is of great significance to understand the formation and change of weather and climate. Based on the ERA5 reanalysis data and a process‐based land surface model (the Ecosystem‐Atmosphere Simulation Scheme), this study analysed the spatiotemporal variations and influencing factors in the energy budget in the Loess Plateau (LP). The results showed that from 1990 to 2017, the average annual surface net radiation (Rn) and latent heat (LE) in the LP showed a decreasing trend. The Rn and LE presented an increased spatial pattern from northwest to southeast. On a monthly scale, the Grain for Green (GFG) project amplified the negative effect in the period of November to February and September, but diminished the negative effect in other months. Climate change contributed more to energy exchange than land cover change during the study period. Our results provide useful information for developing adaptive strategies for the region to adapt to global climate change. In the past 30 years, the multiyear averages of Rn and LE of the LP were 71.3 and 41.52 W·m−2, respectively. The multiyear surface energy budget in the LP had obvious seasonal variation characteristics.