A numerical study on hydrological impacts of forest restoration in the southern United States

Liu, Yongqiang

doi:10.1002/eco.178

Cited by 19 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 34 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…Therefore, planned afforestation efforts should be developed carefully by taking account of short-term (local) and long-term (remote) biophysical effects of afforestation. This emphasizes the importance to coordinate forest management effort in the afforested region and the surrounding areas, as suggested by Liu et al (2008). We note that the biochemical effect of afforestation over the SEUS on temperature is about 0.048C and small relative to the biophysical effect.…”

Section: Summary and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Simulated Local and Remote Biophysical Effects of Afforestation over the Southeast United States in Boreal Summer*

et al. 2012

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Afforestation has been proposed as a climate change mitigation strategy by sequestrating atmospheric carbon dioxide. With the goal of increasing carbon sequestration, a Congressional project has been planned to afforest about 18 million acres by 2020 in the Southeast United States (SEUS), the Great Lake states, and the Corn Belt states. However, biophysical feedbacks of afforestation have the potential to counter the beneficial climatic consequences of carbon sequestration. To assess the potential biophysical effects of afforestation over the SEUS, the authors designed a set of initial value ensemble experiments and long-term quasi-equilibrium experiments in a fully coupled Community Climate System Model, version 3.5 (CCSM3.5). Model results show that afforestation over the SEUS not only has a local cooling effect in boreal summer [June-August (JJA)] at short and long time scales but also induces remote warming over adjacent regions of the SEUS at long time scales. Precipitation, in response to afforestation, increases over the SEUS (local effect) and decreases over adjacent regions (remote effect) in JJA. The local surface cooling and increase in precipitation over SEUS in JJA are hydrologically driven by the changes in evapotranspiration and latent heat flux. The remote surface warming and decrease in precipitation over adjacent regions are adiabatically induced by anomalous subsidence. Our results suggest that the planned afforestation efforts should be developed carefully by taking account of short-term (local) and long-term (remote) biophysical effects of afforestation.

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Section: Summary and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Simulated Local and Remote Biophysical Effects of Afforestation over the Southeast United States in Boreal Summer*

et al. 2012

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“…The hydrologic region has multiple river basins along the coast with a total area of 721,520 square kilometers of drainage that ultimately discharges into: (a) the Atlantic Ocean within and between the states of Virginia and Florida; (b) the Gulf of Mexico within and between the states of Florida and Louisiana; and (c) the associated waters [15]. The study region has experienced rapid land use/land cover change [16][17][18][19]. The details of the changes are elaborated in the next section (Results and Discussion).…”

Section: Study Regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Forest restoration increased surface roughness and reduced the southerly winds. This caused a decrease in July precipitation (due to weaker moist transport), while causing reduced northerly winds resulting in an increase in January precipitation (due to weaker dry and cold airflows) [16]. Reduced regional farm and forest productivity may result from altered rainfall patterns and increased climate variability [24].…”

Section: Conceptual Map Of Selected Drivers Of Changes and Alterationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrologic Characteristics of Streamflow in the Southeast Atlantic and Gulf Coast Hydrologic Region during 1939–2016 and Conceptual Map of Potential Impacts

2018

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Streamflow is one the most important variables controlling and maintaining aquatic ecosystem integrity, diversity, and sustainability. This study identified and quantified changes in 34 hydrologic characteristics and parameters at 30 long term discharge stations in the Southeast Atlantic and Gulf Coast Hydrologic Region (Region 3) using Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA) variables. The southeastern United States (SEUS) is a biodiversity hotspot, and the region has experienced a number of rapid land use/land cover changes with multiple primary drivers. Studies in the SEUS have been mostly localized on specific rivers, reservoir catchments and/or species, but the overall region has not been assessed for the long-term period of 1939-2016 for multiple hydrologic characteristic parameters. The objectives of the study were to provide an overview of multiple river basins and 31 hydrologic characteristic parameters of streamflow in Region 3 for a longer period and to develop a conceptual map of impacts of selected stressors and changes in hydrology and climate in the SEUS. A seven step procedure was used to accomplish these objectively:Step 1: Download data from the 30 USGS gauging stations. Steps 2 and 3: Select and analyze the 31 IHA parameters using boxplots, scatter plots, and PDFs. Steps 4 and 5: Synthesize the drivers of changes and alterations and the various change points in streamflow in the literature.Step 6: Synthesize the climate of the SEUS in terms of temperature and precipitation changes.Step 7: Develop a conceptual map of impacts of selected stressors on hydrology using Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework and IHA parameters. The 31 IHA parameters were analyzed. The meta-analysis of literature in the SEUS revealed the precipitation changes observed ranged from −30% to +35% and temperature changes from −2 • C to 6 • C by 2099. The fiftieth percentile of the Global Climate Models (GCM) predict no precipitation change and an increase in the temperature of 2.5 • C in the region by 2099. Among the GCMs, the 5th and 95th percentile of precipitation changes range between −40% and 110% and temperature changes between −2 • C and 6 • C by 2099. Meta-analysis of land use/land cover show the region has experienced changes. A number of rapid land use/land cover changes in 1957, 1970, and 1998 are some of the change points documented in the literature for precipitation and streamflow in the region. A conceptual map was developed to represent the impacts of selected drivers and the changes in hydrology and climate in the study region for three land use/land cover categories in three different periods.

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“…A lower albedo value means more solar energy available (higher net radiation) for sensible heat and latent heat, i.e., evapotranspiration. A comparison of albedo and net radiation measured for a mid-rotation (15-year-old) and young loblolly pine .1 A conceptual model describing the interactions of forests, climate, and streamflow at multiple scales (modified from Liu et al 2008Liu et al , 2010 forest shows that albedo and net ration fluctuate seasonal and change over time due to the climate variation and plant development resulting a decrease in albedo and an increase in net radiation ( Fig. 15.2) (Sun et al 2010).…”

Section: Albedomentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest Influences on Climate and Water Resources at the Landscape to Regional Scale

Sun

Liu

2013

Landscape Ecology for Sustainable Environment and Culture

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Although it is well known that climate controls the distribution, productivity and functioning of vegetation on earth, our knowledge about the role of forests in regulating regional climate and water resources is lacking. The studies on climate-forests feedbacks have received increasing attention from the climate change and ecohydrology research communities. The goal of this study is to provide an in-depth examination of forest-climate-water interactions by synthesizing recent scientific literature on the influences of forests on climate and water resources from watershed to regional scale. The synthesis paper provides a review of the state of art of our understanding of the mechanisms of interactions of forests and climate and water resources at the landscape and regional scale. The paper presents two case studies that examine the influences of forests on microclimate, watershed hydrology, and regional climate and water resources at a small watershed to region scale using literature from the Coweeta Hydrological Laboratory in the southeast U.S. and a simulation study on the North China Shelter Belt Project. Future research gaps were identified in terms of integrated Earth System modeling to guide forest management for global change mitigation and adaptation.

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A numerical study on hydrological impacts of forest restoration in the southern United States

Cited by 19 publications

References 34 publications

Simulated Local and Remote Biophysical Effects of Afforestation over the Southeast United States in Boreal Summer*

Simulated Local and Remote Biophysical Effects of Afforestation over the Southeast United States in Boreal Summer*

Hydrologic Characteristics of Streamflow in the Southeast Atlantic and Gulf Coast Hydrologic Region during 1939–2016 and Conceptual Map of Potential Impacts

Forest Influences on Climate and Water Resources at the Landscape to Regional Scale

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