The impact of reforestation on the climate of the Southeast

Human modification of the landscape can potentially have an impact on weather and climate. Numerous climate modeling studies indicate that deforestation or reforestation will have an impact on the climate. Yet, there is much less research that utilizes the climate record to confirm these findings.; This study determined the impact of reforestation on the summer climate of the southeastern United States. Counties in the piedmont area of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama were grouped by amounts of forest cover during the period 1948-2001. Three levels of forest cover were compared using an air mass analysis: low, medium, and high forest cover. In addition, county groups with low levels and high levels of forest cover were tested for meaningful differences between temperature, precipitation, and soil moisture.; Results verify those aspects of the land surface's effect on climate that are well modeled but also point to model areas that are not well constrained and require further work. There is clearly the need for further development of land-atmosphere climate models and for further study of the climate record to understand how land surface alteration affects climate. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...