More than carbon sequestration: Biophysical climate benefits of restored savanna woodlands.

ABSTRACT: Deforestation and climate change are interconnected and represent major environmental challenges. Here, we explore the capacity of regional-scale restoration of marginal agricultural lands to savanna woodlands in Australia to reduce warming and drying resulting from increased concentration of greenhouse gases. We show that restoration triggers a positive feedback loop between the land surface and the atmosphere, characterised by increased evaporative fraction, eddy dissipation and turbulent mixing in the boundary-layer resulting in enhanced cloud formation and precipitation over the restored regions. The increased evapotranspiration results from the capacity deep-rooted woody vegetation to access soil moisture. As a consequence, the increase in precipitation provides additional moisture to

SUBMITTER: Syktus JI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4931580 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature