Land cover change effects on the climate of the La Plata Basin

The study uses the Weather Research and Forecasting Model to simulate the impact of basin-wide agricultural expansion in the La Plata River basin. It finds divergent regional climate responses: the northern region experiences decreased temperatures and precipitation due to increased albedo and moisture advection, while the southern region sees increased temperatures and precipitation due to decreased albedo and altered moisture flux convergence. These changes also influence precipitation patterns over the South Atlantic Ocean.

• In the northern part of the La Plata River basin, replacing forests and savanna with crops increases albedo, which reduces sensible heat flux and near-surface temperature. Additionally, a decrease in surface roughness length increases low-level winds, causing more moisture to be advected out of the region, which reduces vertically integrated moisture flux convergence (VIMFC) and precipitation.
• In the southern part of the La Plata River basin, the transition from grasslands to crops reduces albedo, leading to an increase in near-surface temperature. The smaller reduction in surface roughness length compared to the north reduces northerly moisture fluxes, resulting in a net increase in VIMFC and precipitation.
• Land cover changes within the basin trigger advective processes that alter circulation and precipitation patterns over the South Atlantic Ocean.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2025). Land cover change effects on the climate of the La Plata Basin. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/land-cover-change-effects-on-the-climate-of-the-la-plata-basin/

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Land cover change effects on the climate of the La Plata Basin. 2025. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/land-cover-change-effects-on-the-climate-of-the-la-plata-basin/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Land cover change effects on the climate of the La Plata Basin |date=17 January 2025 |url=https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/land-cover-change-effects-on-the-climate-of-the-la-plata-basin/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2025land, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Land cover change effects on the climate of the La Plata Basin}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/land-cover-change-effects-on-the-climate-of-the-la-plata-basin/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }