A new study showed cutting down rain forests increases carbon dioxide release, triggering amped up global warming and altered rainfall patterns. The report also showed these effects put future agriculture productivity at a significant risk.
The study offers the most comprehensive analysis to date of the climate impacts of tropical forest destruction on agriculture, Burness Communications reported.
The findings suggest deforestation in South America, Southeast Asia and Africa could influence agriculture as far away as in the U.S. Midwest and Europe.
To make their findings the researchers used groundbreaking climate models that factored in "direct local, regional and global impacts of cutting down tropical forests, " to see how they influenced the global atmosphere.
The findings reveal the total impact of tropical deforestation could lead to an increase in temperature of 0.7 degrees Celsius on top of the predicted impact imposed by greenhouse gases. If this level of warming occurs it would double observed warming since 1850. Crops would suffer under these future hot and dry conditions as well as connected flooding could put crops around the world at a significant risk of failure.
"Tropical deforestation delivers a double whammy to the climate--and to farmers," said Deborah Lawrence, Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia, the study's lead author. "Most people know that climate change is a dangerous global problem, and that it's caused by pumping carbon into the atmosphere. But it turns out that removing forests alters moisture and air flow, leading to changes--from fluctuating rainfall patterns to rises in temperatures--that are just as hazardous, and happen right away. The impacts go beyond the tropics--the United Kingdom and Hawaii could see an increase in rainfall while the US Midwest and Southern France could see a decline."
The findings suggest local deforestation is already making its mark on regional climates. For example, the beginning of Thailand's dry season is believed to be experiencing less rainfall as a result of deforestation.
"The study not only compiles highly relevant scientific literature, it will also help guide policy makers working on climate change. Tropical deforestation impacts weather patterns globally, which makes addressing deforestation one of the most important mitigation strategies," said Dr. Charlotte Streck, Director of Climate Focus.
The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal Nature Climate Change.
