Fewer trees means less rain – the evidence for this connection has been around for a long time. The data now shows effect size. Using satellite data and meteorological records, a team led by Dominic Spracklen of the University of Leeds has shown that for every one percent of forest area lost, about a quarter of a liter of rain falls per square metre. The working group also wrote in the journal Nature., the effect size is roughly consistent with predictions from climate models. The data also confirm previous analyzes of the relationship between forests and regional precipitation. According to the publication, cutting down the rainforest can also reduce rainfall in remote agricultural areas and thus the yields that depend on it. It also encourages further forest loss and thus endangers the existence of the rainforest itself.
The background to the close relationship between forest area and rainfall is that forests can create their own rainfall. This is due to the significant recycling of water by trees. These huge amounts of water are transferred from the soil to the air through what is called evapotranspiration, that is, the evaporation of water through the stomata of the leaves. There it condenses and rains again. in this way Forests can cause additional precipitation up to 2,000 km. However, this also means that deforestation can make outlying regions drier, with consequences for ecosystems and agriculture.
The Spracklen team examined changes in the forest cover of the Amazon, Congo Basin and tropical Southeast Asia from 2003 to 2017 and compared this evolution to changes in precipitation there. And I came to the conclusion that the amount of rain decreased in all regions and in all seasons. The data showed that, contrary to previous assumptions, rainforests in Southeast Asia are also affected by reduced precipitation due to deforestation. those mentioned in some previous studies Increased precipitation over cleared areas in the dry season It proved insignificant in the new analysis.
“Alcohol buff. Troublemaker. Introvert. Student. Social media lover. Web ninja. Bacon fan. Reader.”