A one-dimensional (column) version of a primitive equations model has been used to study the impact of soil moisture and vegetation cover on the development of deep cumulus convection in the absence of dynamical forcing. The model includes parameterizations of radiation, turbulent exchange, deep convection, shallow boundary layer convective clouds, vegetation, and soil temperature and moisture. Multiple one-dimensional experiments were performed using the average July sounding for Topeka, Kansas, as the initial condition. A range of volumetric soil moisture from one-half of the wilting point to saturation and vegetation cover ranging from bare soil to full cover were considered. Vegetation cover was found to promote convection, both by extraction of soil moisture and by shading the soil so that conduction of heat into the soil was reduced (thereby increasing the available energy). The larger values of initial soil moisture were found to delay the onset of precipitation and to increase the precipi... Abstract A one-dimensional (column) version of a primitive equations model has been used to study the impact of soil moisture and vegetation cover on the development of deep cumulus convection in the absence of dynamical forcing. The model includes parameterizations of radiation, turbulent exchange, deep convection, shallow boundary layer convective clouds, vegetation, and soil temperature and moisture. Multiple one-dimensional experiments were performed using the average July sounding for Topeka, Kansas, as the initial condition. A range of volumetric soil moisture from one-half of the wilting point to saturation and vegetation cover ranging from bare soil to full cover were considered. Vegetation cover was found to promote convection, both by extraction of soil moisture and by shading the soil so that conduction of heat into the soil was reduced (thereby increasing the available energy). The larger values of initial soil moisture were found to delay the onset of precipitation and to increase the precipi...