Trees,forests and water: Cool insights for a hot world |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Umeå, Sweden;2. Ellison Consulting, Denver, CO, USA;3. INRA, UR0407 Plant Pathology, Montfavet, France;4. Department Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA;5. Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD), Paris, France;6. Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Lima, Peru;7. Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway;8. Texas Law, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA;9. Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Bogor, Indonesia;10. Department of Geophysics and Meteorology, Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor, Indonesia;11. WeForest, London, UK;12. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Bogor, Indonesia;13. Plant Production Systems, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands;14. Department of Biology, Western University, London, ON, Canada;15. ENKI, o.p.s. Trebon, Czech Republic;p. School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK;q. Hydrology and Quantitative Water Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands;r. Ethiopian Institute of Water Resources, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;s. Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden;t. Division of Forest, Nature and Landscape, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium;u. FAO, Rome, Italy;v. Department of Community Development and Communication Sciences, Bogor Agricultural University, Indonesia;w. School of Environment, Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, NSW, Australia |
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| Abstract: | Forest-driven water and energy cycles are poorly integrated into regional, national, continental and global decision-making on climate change adaptation, mitigation, land use and water management. This constrains humanity’s ability to protect our planet’s climate and life-sustaining functions. The substantial body of research we review reveals that forest, water and energy interactions provide the foundations for carbon storage, for cooling terrestrial surfaces and for distributing water resources. Forests and trees must be recognized as prime regulators within the water, energy and carbon cycles. If these functions are ignored, planners will be unable to assess, adapt to or mitigate the impacts of changing land cover and climate. Our call to action targets a reversal of paradigms, from a carbon-centric model to one that treats the hydrologic and climate-cooling effects of trees and forests as the first order of priority. For reasons of sustainability, carbon storage must remain a secondary, though valuable, by-product. The effects of tree cover on climate at local, regional and continental scales offer benefits that demand wider recognition. The forest- and tree-centered research insights we review and analyze provide a knowledge-base for improving plans, policies and actions. Our understanding of how trees and forests influence water, energy and carbon cycles has important implications, both for the structure of planning, management and governance institutions, as well as for how trees and forests might be used to improve sustainability, adaptation and mitigation efforts. |
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| Keywords: | Forest Water Energy Climate Carbon Reforestation Mitigation Adaptation Sustainability |
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