Amazonian Deforestation and Regional Climate Change
TLDR
The authors used a coupled numerical model of the global atmosphere and biosphere (Center for Ocean-Land- Atmosphere GCM) to assess the effects of Amazonian deforestation on the regional and global climate, and found that when the Amazonian tropical forests were replaced by degraded grass (pasture) in the model, there was a significant increase in the mean surface temperature (about 2.5°C) and a decrease in the annual evapo-transpiration (30% reduction), precipitation (25% reduction) and runoff (20% reduction).Abstract:
Large-scale conversion of tropical forests into pastures or annual crops could lead to changes in the climate. We have used a coupled numerical model of the global atmosphere and biosphere (Center for Ocean-Land- Atmosphere GCM) to assess the effects of Amazonian deforestation on the regional and global climate. We found that when the Amazonian tropical forests were replaced by degraded grass (pasture) in the model, there was a significant increase in the mean surface temperature (about 2.5°C) and a decrease in the annual evapo-transpiration (30% reduction), precipitation (25% reduction), and runoff (20% reduction) in the region. The differences between the two simulations were greatest during the dry season. The deforested case was associated with larger diurnal fluctuations of surface temperature and vapor pressure deficit; such effects have been observed in existing deforested arms in Amazonia. The calculated reduction in precipitation was larger than the calculated decrease in evapotranspirat...read more
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Investigating soil moisture-climate interactions in a changing climate: A review
Sonia I. Seneviratne,T. Corti,Edouard Davin,Martin Hirschi,Eric B. Jaeger,Irene Lehner,Boris Orlowsky,Adriaan J. Teuling +7 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide a synthesis of past research on the role of soil moisture for the climate system, based both on modelling and observational studies, focusing on soil moisture-temperature and soil moistureprecipitation feedbacks, and their possible modifications with climate change.
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Modeling the Exchanges of Energy, Water, and Carbon Between Continents and the Atmosphere
Piers J. Sellers,Robert E. Dickinson,David A. Randall,Alan K. Betts,Forrest G. Hall,Joseph A. Berry,G. J. Collatz,A. S. Denning,Harold A. Mooney,Carlos A. Nobre,N. Sato,Christopher B. Field,Ann Henderson-Sellers +12 more
TL;DR: Modern schemes incorporate biogeochemical and ecological knowledge and, when coupled with advanced climate and ocean models, will be capable of modeling the biological and physical responses of the Earth system to global change, for example, increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Journal ArticleDOI
The role of deep roots in the hydrological and carbon cycles of Amazonian forests and pastures
Daniel C. Nepstad,Cláudio José Reis de Carvalho,Eric A. Davidson,Peter H. Jipp,Peter H. Jipp,Paul Lefebvre,Gustavo Hees de Negreiros,Elson D. da Silva,Thomas A. Stone,Susan E. Trumbore,Simone Aparecida Vieira +10 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors estimate that half of the closed forests of Brazilian Amazonia depend on deep root systems to maintain green canopies during the dry season, and as much as 15% of this deep-soil carbon turns over on annual or decadal timescales.
Journal ArticleDOI
Large-scale impoverishment of Amazonian forests by logging and fire
Daniel C. Nepstad,Adalberto Verssimo,Ane Alencar,Carlos A. Nobre,Eirivelthon Lima,Paul Lefebvre,Peter Schlesinger,Christopher Potter,Paulo Moutinho,Elsa Mendoza,Mark A. Cochrane,Vanessa Brooks +11 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present field surveys of wood mills and forest burning across Brazilian Amazonia which show that logging crews severely damage 10,000 to 15,000 km2 of forest that are not included in deforestation mapping programmes.
Journal ArticleDOI
Climatic impact of tropical lowland deforestation on nearby montane cloud forests.
TL;DR: In this article, Landsat and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite imagery show that deforested areas of Costa Rica's Caribbean lowlands remain relatively cloud-free when forested regions have well-developed dry season cumulus cloud fields.
References
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Biomass Burning in the Tropics: Impact on Atmospheric Chemistry and Biogeochemical Cycles
TL;DR: Widespread burning of biomass serves to clear land for shifting cultivation, to convert forests to agricultural and pastoral lands, and to remove dry vegetation in order to promote agricultural productivity and the growth of higher yield grasses, but it may also disturb biogeochemical cycles, especially that of nitrogen.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the Simple Biosphere Model (SiB) was used to generate global monthly fields of surface albedo (0.4-4.0 microns), roughness length and minimum surface (stomatal) resistance.