Solar dimming above temperate forests and its impact on local climate

Vegetation has a substantial impact on the local climate. Land cover changes through afforestation or deforestation can amplify or mitigate climate warming by changes in biophysical and biogeochemical mechanisms. In the montane to subalpine area of the Eastern Alps in Europe, where forests have cons...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental research letters 2018-06, Vol.13 (6), p.64014
Main Authors: Tudoroiu, M, Genesio, L, Gioli, B, Schume, H, Knohl, A, Brümmer, C, Miglietta, F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Afforestation
Air temperature
Albedo
Bowen ratio
Climate
Climate change
cooling
Deforestation
Dimming
forest effects on climatology
Forests
Global warming
Land cover
Land use
mountain forests
Radiation
Radiative forcing
Reduction
solar radiation
Surface roughness
Temperate forests
Weather stations
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Summary:Vegetation has a substantial impact on the local climate. Land cover changes through afforestation or deforestation can amplify or mitigate climate warming by changes in biophysical and biogeochemical mechanisms. In the montane to subalpine area of the Eastern Alps in Europe, where forests have constantly expanded in the last four decades, data of meteorological stations show a consistent reduction in incoming global radiation for the period 2000-2015. To assess the potential role of forests in contributing to such a reduction, three site pairs in Central Europe with neighbouring forest and non-forest sites were analysed. In all the pairs, a lower amount of incoming radiation was recorded at the forest site. When biophysical mechanisms such as albedo, surface roughness and Bowen ratio changes were modelled together with changes in global radiation, the total radiative forcing accounted for a rate of change in air temperature was equal to 0.032 °C ± 0.01 °C per Wm−2. These results suggest that local climate is influenced by land cover change through afforestation both via albedo and radiation feedbacks but also by means of indirect biophysical and species-dependent mechanisms. The data obtained for the site pairs in Central Europe are finally discussed to infer the occurrence of similar forest-driven effects in the Eastern Alps which may explain part of the solar dimming observed in high elevation weather stations.
ISSN:1748-9326
1748-9326
DOI:10.1088/1748-9326/aac4e0