Barnes et al. (2024): A Century of Reforestation Reduced Anthropogenic Warming in the Eastern United States
Mallory L. Barnes, Quan Zhang, Scott M. Robeson, Lily Young, Elizabeth A. Burakowski, A. Christopher. Oishi, Paul C. Stoy, Gaby Katul, Kimberly A. Novick IN: Earth’s Future, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EF003663
In addition to regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, forests modify surface and near-surface air temperatures through biophysical processes. In the eastern United States (EUS), widespread reforestation during the 20th century coincided with an anomalous lack of warming, raising questions about reforestation’s contribution to local cooling and climate mitigation. Using new cross-scale approaches and multiple independent sources of data, the authors uncovered links between reforestation and the response of both surface and air temperature in the EUS.