Climate Change Impacts on Temperature and Water of the Soil in Iraq for the Period 1980-2022

Abstract

Soil temperature is a fundamental issue in applied climate studies. It has great importance in overall plant activity in terms of the speed of seed germination and the process of water absorption by the roots. When the soil temperature rises, the effectiveness of biological organisms increases, which in turn increases the speed of decomposition of organic matter, provides organic nutrients to the plant, and determines Suitable conditions for seed germination and seedling growth in the early stages of the plant’s life. Data are taken by high vegetation Cover (HVC), soil temperature (ST), soil water (SW), total precipitation (TP), and temperature (T) from satellites recorded by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The choice period from 1980-2022 over Iraq extends between two latitudes (29.55° - 37.225°) North of the equator and between two longitudes (38.455° - 48.548°) East of the Corniche line. Otherwise, we have studied the behavior of monthly, seasonal, and yearly means of HVC, ST, SW, TP, and T as well as the relationship between them. The results showed that the strongest correlation was between the soil temperature and the temperature, as the relationship was very strong and positive. While the other relationship between soil temperature and water content was a very strong inverse relationship, the other relationship between soil temperature, high vegetation cover, and total precipitation was inverse and weak.