Chinese Academy of Sciences Study Finds Hydrological Consequences of Reforestation Depend on Global Warming Levels

en.Wedoany.com Reported - A new study by the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences has found that the hydrological consequences of reforestation critically depend on the extent of global warming.

The research team used the latest Earth system model simulations from the CMIP6 project to compare the effects of large-scale reforestation activities of the same magnitude under two future scenarios: a low-warming pathway (SSP1‑2.6) and a high-warming pathway (SSP3‑7.0). The study focuses on terrestrial water availability, which is the balance between precipitation and evaporation—a balance crucial for ecosystems, agriculture, and human water use.

Dr. TANG Tao, lead author of the study published in One Earth, stated that the same trees planted at the same scale can lead to nearly opposite outcomes depending on the background climate. Under the low-warming scenario, reforestation slightly increased global water resources but widened the gap between wet and dry regions, presenting a "rich get richer" situation. Under the high-warming scenario, reforestation reduced overall water availability but made water distribution more balanced.

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