When radiative flux is incident on a surface, it is often called irradiance.
[3] This shortwave radiation, as solar radiation, can have a profound impact on certain biophysical processes of vegetation, such as canopy photosynthesis and land surface energy budgets, by being absorbed into the soil and canopies.
Longwave flux is a product of both downwelling infrared energy as well as emission by the underlying surface.
The cooling associated with the divergence of longwave radiation is necessary for creating and sustaining lasting inversion layers close to the surface during polar night.
Longwave radiation flux divergence also plays a role in the formation of fog.