Nature- Rohatyn et al. (2023): Large variations in afforestation-related climate cooling and warming effects across short distances
Shani Rohatyn, Eyal Rotenberg, Fyodor Tatarinov, Yohay Carmel, Dan Yakir IN: Commun Earth Environ 4, 18; https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-00678-9
The authors show in a four-year study that the biogeochemical vs. biogeophysical balance in paired forested and non-forested ecosystems across short distances (approximately 200 Km) and steep aridity gradient (aridity index 0.64 to 0.18) can change dramatically. The required time for the forestation cooling effects via carbon sequestration, to surpass warming effects associated with the forests’ reduced albedo and suppressed longwave radiation, decreased from 213 years in the driest sites to 73 years in the intermediate and 43 years in the wettest sites.