TY - JOUR
T1 - Trees, forests and water
T2 - Cool insights for a hot world
AU - Ellison, David
AU - Morris, Cindy E.
AU - Locatelli, Bruno
AU - Sheil, Douglas
AU - Cohen, Jane
AU - Murdiyarso, Daniel
AU - Gutierrez, Victoria
AU - van Noordwijk, Meine
AU - Creed, Irena F.
AU - Pokorny, Jan
AU - Gaveau, David
AU - Spracklen, Dominick V.
AU - Tobella, Aida Bargués
AU - Ilstedt, Ulrik
AU - Teuling, Adriaan J.
AU - Gebrehiwot, Solomon Gebreyohannis
AU - Sands, David C.
AU - Muys, Bart
AU - Verbist, Bruno
AU - Springgay, Elaine
AU - Sugandi, Yulia
AU - Sullivan, Caroline A.
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Forest-driven water and energy cycles are poorly integrated into regional, national, continental and global decision-making on climate change adaptation, mitigation, land use and water management. This constrains humanity's ability to protect our planet's climate and life-sustaining functions. The substantial body of research we review reveals that forest, water and energy interactions provide the foundations for carbon storage, for cooling terrestrial surfaces and for distributing water resources. Forests and trees must be recognized as prime regulators within the water, energy and carbon cycles. If these functions are ignored, planners will be unable to assess, adapt to or mitigate the impacts of changing land cover and climate. Our call to action targets a reversal of paradigms, from a carbon-centric model to one that treats the hydrologic and climate-cooling effects of trees and forests as the first order of priority. For reasons of sustainability, carbon storage must remain a secondary, though valuable, by-product. The effects of tree cover on climate at local, regional and continental scales offer benefits that demand wider recognition. The forest- and tree-centered research insights we review and analyze provide a knowledge-base for improving plans, policies and actions. Our understanding of how trees and forests influence water, energy and carbon cycles has important implications, both for the structure of planning, management and governance institutions, as well as for how trees and forests might be used to improve sustainability, adaptation and mitigation efforts.
AB - Forest-driven water and energy cycles are poorly integrated into regional, national, continental and global decision-making on climate change adaptation, mitigation, land use and water management. This constrains humanity's ability to protect our planet's climate and life-sustaining functions. The substantial body of research we review reveals that forest, water and energy interactions provide the foundations for carbon storage, for cooling terrestrial surfaces and for distributing water resources. Forests and trees must be recognized as prime regulators within the water, energy and carbon cycles. If these functions are ignored, planners will be unable to assess, adapt to or mitigate the impacts of changing land cover and climate. Our call to action targets a reversal of paradigms, from a carbon-centric model to one that treats the hydrologic and climate-cooling effects of trees and forests as the first order of priority. For reasons of sustainability, carbon storage must remain a secondary, though valuable, by-product. The effects of tree cover on climate at local, regional and continental scales offer benefits that demand wider recognition. The forest- and tree-centered research insights we review and analyze provide a knowledge-base for improving plans, policies and actions. Our understanding of how trees and forests influence water, energy and carbon cycles has important implications, both for the structure of planning, management and governance institutions, as well as for how trees and forests might be used to improve sustainability, adaptation and mitigation efforts.
KW - Adaptation
KW - Carbon
KW - Climate
KW - Energy
KW - Forest
KW - Mitigation
KW - Reforestation
KW - Sustainability
KW - Water
U2 - 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2017.01.002
DO - 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2017.01.002
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85012180575
SN - 0959-3780
VL - 43
SP - 51
EP - 61
JO - Global environmental change : human and policy dimensions
JF - Global environmental change : human and policy dimensions
ER -