Role of Forest on Climate Regulation

Forests play a vital role in the functioning of the planet's natural systems. The forests regulate
local and global weather through their absorption and creation of rainfall and their exchange of
atmospheric gases. For example, the Amazon alone creates 50-80 percent of its own rainfall
through transpiration. Cutting the rainforests changes the reflectivity of the earth's surface, which
affects global weather by altering wind and ocean current patterns, and changes rainfall
distribution. If the forests continue to be destroyed, global weather patterns may become more
unstable and extreme.

Temperature

Temperature averages within a forest are slightly lower than in adjacent open areas and the
ranges are not so large. In mid latitude lowlands the mean annual temperature within a forest is
about 0.6℃ lower than on the outside; at an elevation of 1000m the difference is 1℃. The
greatest average difference is in summer, when it may be as much as 2℃; in winter it is only
about 0.06. ℃. On the hottest summer day a forest may reduce the surface air temperature by
more than 2.5, ℃ whereas in extremely cold winter weather the difference is only about 1℃.

In low -latitude forests the influence of tree canopy on air temperature is ever greater, in dense
forest the upper canopy shades the ground and acts as the primary absorbing surface during the
day, thus retarding the rise of soil temperature. At night the canopy radiates heat more radialy
than the ground, which is slower to cool. The same principle holds true for seasonal variations.
In spring and summer, the soil of the forest floor is slow to heat but in autumn and winter it
remains slightly warmer than soil outside the forest, though the difference is less.

Depending the density of the cover, forest may intercept up to 90 percent of the sunlight which is
incident at the treetop level. The reduction in light is the primary causes of paucity of low plants
under a dense forest canopy such as found in the equatorial rain forest.

Rainfall

Forests, like all forms of vegetation, affect the "surface albedo" or reflectivity of a surface by
absorbing more heat than bare soil. In turn, this warm carries moisture from forest trees into to
atmosphere, where it condenses as rain. In other words, forests cool local climate and help
generate rainfall. Conversely, the loss of forest vegetative cover means less heat absorption,
translating to less moisture being taken up into the atmosphere.

The forest creates additional roughness for air masses moving in the lower atmosphere, slows
down their movement and causes turbulence, which leads to the formation of ascending air
fluxes, air cooling, cloud formation, and, consequently, greater precipitation on forested areas.
Clear evidences that total precipitation over a forest differ appreciably from that over adjacent
areas is lacking. Rain gauges placed in open spaces within the forest usually indicate greater
rainfall than outside the forest, but this probably due t their being protected from the wind so that
they can collect a more accurate sample. Tree crowns intercept a part of the precipitation which
falls over a forest, and much of it is evaporated. The proportion thus withheld from the soil
depends on the density of foliage and also on the duration and type of rainfall. A light rainfall of
short duration may be almost entirely caught in the canopy of a dense forest, whereas in a driving
rainstorm accompanied by wind most of the rain reaches the ground.

Evapotranspiration

In the forest is a complicated physical process. It includes transpiration by the green mass of the
tree crowns, evaporation from the soil and by ground vegetation, and evaporation of intercepted
precipitation.
One of the main functions of this process in plants is to transport water needed by plant tissues
in other parts of the plant besides the roots. But this evaporative cooling effect also benefits the
plant. This keeps the plant—which might very well be exposed to direct, intense sunlight—from
overheating. And this also explains why, on a hot day, if we enter a forested area, we feel
considerably cooler. Part of that is due to the shade, but part is also due to the evaporative
cooling effect from the trees through this process of transpiration.

Wind
Surface wind speeds are markedly reduced by trees; several meters inside a dense forest force is
but a small fraction of that on outside. By restricting air movement, trees aid in reducing
evaporation, lowering temperature, and increasing relative humidity. Within the forest, the
reduction in wind results in an even distribution of snow cover.

Humidity

Relative humidity is 3 to 10 percent higher within a forest on the average owing to lower
temperature, lighter air movement, and transpiration from plants. Evaporation from the soil is
considerably lessened as a result of the protective influences of the forest, and if the ground is
well covered with plant litter, it is reduced by one – half to two-third as compared to evaporation
from soil in the open. During the growing season, trunks and brunches have lower temperatures
than the surrounding air and they are further cooled by radiation at night with the result dew or
fog is formed. The movement of air from a forest to adjacent open country often carries fog with
it and aids in preventing frost.
Fog /Dew Formation
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