The global potential of forest restoration for drought mitigation
Forest restoration is increasingly applied as a climate change mitigation measure. Apart from sequestering carbon, the large-scale addition of trees on Earth may enhance global precipitation levels. Here we estimate the global precipitation effects of the global forest potential by estimating its ef...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac55b8 |
| _version_ | 1797747055892889600 |
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| author | Obbe A Tuinenburg Joyce H C Bosmans Arie Staal |
| author_facet | Obbe A Tuinenburg Joyce H C Bosmans Arie Staal |
| author_sort | Obbe A Tuinenburg |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Forest restoration is increasingly applied as a climate change mitigation measure. Apart from sequestering carbon, the large-scale addition of trees on Earth may enhance global precipitation levels. Here we estimate the global precipitation effects of the global forest potential by estimating its effects on evaporation and simulating the downwind precipitation effect of the moisture added to the atmosphere. We find that maximum forestation would on average increase evaporation by 0.6 mm d ^−1 and that two-thirds of that additional evaporation would rain out over land, especially during the growing season. Next, by excluding natural grasslands and prioritizing precipitation enhancement above areas that are projected to become drier due to global climate change, we establish where on Earth forest restoration would have the greatest precipitation benefits. Our results thus provide a first step towards forest restoration programs as double climate-change mitigation efforts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:45:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-127381ec1ba74bc1a5e72077269c3999 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:45:41Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-127381ec1ba74bc1a5e72077269c39992023-08-09T15:25:49ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262022-01-0117303404510.1088/1748-9326/ac55b8The global potential of forest restoration for drought mitigationObbe A Tuinenburg0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6895-0094Joyce H C Bosmans1Arie Staal2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5409-1436Department of Environmental Sciences, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University , Princetonlaan 8a, 3584 CB Utrecht, The NetherlandsDepartment of Environmental Science, Radboud University Nijmegen , Heyendaalseweg 135, Nijmegen, 6525 AJ, The NetherlandsDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University , Princetonlaan 8a, 3584 CB Utrecht, The NetherlandsForest restoration is increasingly applied as a climate change mitigation measure. Apart from sequestering carbon, the large-scale addition of trees on Earth may enhance global precipitation levels. Here we estimate the global precipitation effects of the global forest potential by estimating its effects on evaporation and simulating the downwind precipitation effect of the moisture added to the atmosphere. We find that maximum forestation would on average increase evaporation by 0.6 mm d ^−1 and that two-thirds of that additional evaporation would rain out over land, especially during the growing season. Next, by excluding natural grasslands and prioritizing precipitation enhancement above areas that are projected to become drier due to global climate change, we establish where on Earth forest restoration would have the greatest precipitation benefits. Our results thus provide a first step towards forest restoration programs as double climate-change mitigation efforts.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac55b8regreeningreforestationclimate changemoisture recycling |
| spellingShingle | Obbe A Tuinenburg Joyce H C Bosmans Arie Staal The global potential of forest restoration for drought mitigation Environmental Research Letters regreening reforestation climate change moisture recycling |
| title | The global potential of forest restoration for drought mitigation |
| title_full | The global potential of forest restoration for drought mitigation |
| title_fullStr | The global potential of forest restoration for drought mitigation |
| title_full_unstemmed | The global potential of forest restoration for drought mitigation |
| title_short | The global potential of forest restoration for drought mitigation |
| title_sort | global potential of forest restoration for drought mitigation |
| topic | regreening reforestation climate change moisture recycling |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac55b8 |
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