Heat and water balances of the bare soil surface and the potential distribution of vegetation in the Loess Plateau, China

Abstract Spatial and temporal changes of heat and water balances are crucial to planting to combat desertification in the Loess Plateau of China. A three-layer soil model and meteorological data from 43 observatories were used to estimate the heat and water balances of the bare soil surface. Results indicate that the annual mean of sensible heat flux ranged from 13 to 36 W m −2 and the latent heat flux from 14 W m −2 (179 mm yr −1 ) to 40 W m −2 (521 mm yr −1 ). Water retention and restriction of evaporation from the soil surface are affected by the yellow loessial soil including medium loam, light loam and sandy loam, but not heavy loam. The distribution of fractional extractable water and the existing vegetation have been compared to reveal the potential vegetation distribution leading to the aridity distribution in the plateau.