Artificial Reservoirs: Land Cover Change on Local Climate

This entry presents a review of what is currently known regarding the potential impact of large artificial reservoirs and dams on the local climate from the paradigm of land use and land cover (LULC) change. The review is based on the premise of systematic change in climate-sensitive LULC that most dams initiate after their construction and operation. To better understand the implication of change in local climate near dams and artificial reservoirs, it is therefore important to have a broader view of the changes to the landscape in the post-dam era. However, in the future, other factors, such as urbanization, atmospheric aerosols and global warming, need to be explored as well.