Afforestation is a viable and widely practiced method of sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. However, because of a change in surface albedo, placement of less reflective forests can cause an increase in net‐absorbed radiation and localized surface warming. This effect is enhanced in northern high latitudes where the presence of snow cover exacerbates the albedo difference. Regions where afforestation could provide a climate benefit are determined by comparing net ecosystem production and net radiation differences from afforestation in midlatitude and high latitude of North America. Using the dynamic vegetation model Integrated Biosphere Simulator, agricultural version (Agro‐IBIS), we find a boundary through North America where afforestation results in a positive equivalent carbon balance (cooling) to the south, and a negative equivalent carbon balance (warming) to the north. Including the effects of stand age and fraction cover affect whether a site contributes to mitigating global warming.

Data from a dense urban meteorological network (UMN) are analyzed, revealing the spatial heterogeneity and temporal variability of the Twin Cities (Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota) canopy-layer urban heat island (UHI). Data from individual sensors represent surface air temperature (SAT) across a variety of local climate zones within a 5000-km2 area and span the 3-yr period from 1 August 2011 to 1 August 2014. Irregularly spaced data are interpolated to a uniform 1 km × 1 km grid using two statistical methods: 1) kriging and 2) cokriging with impervious surface area data. The cokriged SAT field exhibits lower bias and lower RMSE than does the kriged SAT field when evaluated against an independent set of observations. Maps, time series, and statistics that are based on the cokriged field are presented to describe the spatial structure and magnitude of the Twin Cities metropolitan area (TCMA) UHI on hourly, daily, and seasonal time scales. The average diurnal variation of the TCMA UHI exhibits distinct seasonal modulation wherein the daily maximum occurs by night during summer and by day during winter. Daily variations in the UHI magnitude are linked to changes in weather patterns. Seasonal variations in the UHI magnitude are discussed in terms of land–atmosphere interactions. To the extent that they more fully resolve the spatial structure of the UHI, dense UMNs are advantageous relative to limited collections of existing urban meteorological observations. Dense UMNs are thus capable of providing valuable information for UHI monitoring and for implementing and evaluating UHI mitigation efforts.

The energy and water balance of a Phragmites australis dominated wetland in south central Nebraska was analyzed to assess consumptive water use and the potential for "water savings" as a result of vegetation eradication via herbicide treatment. Energy balance measurements were made at the field site for two growing seasons (treated and untreated), including observations of net radiation, heat storage, and sensible heat flux, which was measured using a large-aperture scintillometer. Latent heat flux was calculated as a residual of the energy balance, and comparisons were made between the two growing seasons and with model simulations to examine the relative impacts of vegetation removal and climate variability. Observed ET rates dropped by roughly 32% between the two growing seasons, from a mean of 4.4 ± 0.7 mm day-1 in 2009 (with live vegetation) to 3.0 ± 0.8 mm day-1 in 2010 (with dead P. australis). These results are corroborated by the Agro-IBIS model simulations, and the reduction in ET implies a total "water savings" of 245 mm over the course of the growing season. The significant decreases in ET were accompanied by a more-than-doubling of sensible heat flux, as well as a ~60% increase in heat storage due to decreased LAI. Removal of P. australis was also found to cause measurable changes in the local micrometeorology at the wetland. Consistent with the observed increase in sensible heat flux during 2010, warmer, drier, windier conditions were observed in the dead, P. australis section of the wetland, compared to an undisturbed section of live, native vegetation. Modeling results suggest that the elimination of transpiration in 2010 was partially offset by an increase in surface evaporation, thereby reducing the subsequent water savings by roughly 60%. Thus, the impact of vegetation removal depends on the local climate, depth to groundwater, and management decisions related to regrowth of vegetation.

Variations in climate have important influences on the hydrologic cycle. Observations over the continental U.S. in recent decades show substantial changes in hydrologically significant variables, such as decreases in cloud cover and increases in solar radiation (i.e., “solar brightening”), as well as increases in air temperature, changes in wind speed, and seasonal shifts in precipitation rate and rain/snow ratio. Impacts of these changes on the regional water cycle from 1984-2007 are evaluated using a terrestrial ecosystem/land surface hydrologic model (Agro-IBIS). Results show an acceleration of various components of the surface water balance in the Upper Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Great Lakes basins over the 24-year period, but with significant seasonal and spatial complexity. Evapotranspiration (ET) has increased across most of our study domain and seasons. The largest increase is found in fall, when solar brightening trends are also particularly significant. Changes in runoff are characterized by distinct spatial and seasonal variations, with the impact of precipitation often being muted by changes in ET and soil-water storage rate. In snow-dominated regions, such as the northern Great Lakes basin, spring runoff has declined significantly due to warmer air temperatures and an associated decreasing ratio of snow in total precipitation during the cold season. In the northern Missouri basin, runoff shows large increases in all seasons, primarily due to increases in precipitation. The responses to these changes in the regional hydrologic cycle depend on the underlying land cover type (i.e., maize, soybean, and natural vegetation), and comparisons are also made with other hydroclimatic timeseries to place the decadal-scale variability in a longer-term context.