Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Combined Effects of Deforestation and Doubled Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations on the Climate of Amazonia

Marcos Heil Costa Climate, People and Environment Program, Institute for Environmental Studies, and Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin

Search for other papers by Marcos Heil Costa in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
and
Jonathan A. Foley Climate, People and Environment Program, Institute for Environmental Studies, and Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin

Search for other papers by Jonathan A. Foley in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
Print Publication:
01 Jan 2000
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(2000)013<0018:CEODAD>2.0.CO;2
Page(s):
18–34
Restricted access

Abstract

It is generally expected that the Amazon basin will experience at least two major environmental changes during the next few decades and centuries: 1) increasing areas of forest will be converted to pasture and cropland, and 2) concentrations of atmospheric CO2 will continue to rise. In this study, the authors use the National Center for Atmospheric Research GENESIS atmospheric general circulation model, coupled to the Integrated Biosphere Simulator, to determine the combined effects of large-scale deforestation and increased CO2 concentrations (including both physiological and radiative effects) on Amazonian climate.

In these simulations, deforestation decreases basin-average precipitation by 0.73 mm day−1 over the basin, as a consequence of the general reduction in vertical motion above the deforested area (although there are some small regions with increased vertical motion). The overall effect of doubled CO2 concentrations in Amazonia is an increase in basin-average precipitation of 0.28 mm day−1. The combined effect of deforestation and doubled CO2, including the interactions among the processes, is a decrease in the basin-average precipitation of 0.42 mm day−1. While the effects of deforestation and increasing CO2 concentrations on precipitation tend to counteract one another, both processes work to warm the Amazon basin. The effect of deforestation and increasing CO2 concentrations both tend to increase surface temperature, mainly because of decreases in evapotranspiration and the radiative effect of CO2. The combined effect of deforestation and doubled CO2, including the interactions among the processes, increases the basin-average temperature by roughly 3.5°C.

Additional affiliation: Departamento de Engenharia Agrícola, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Vicosa, Brazil.

Corresponding author address: Dr. Jonathan A. Foley, Center for Climate Research, University of Wisconsin—Madison, 1225 West Dayton Street, Madison, WI 53706-1695.

Abstract

It is generally expected that the Amazon basin will experience at least two major environmental changes during the next few decades and centuries: 1) increasing areas of forest will be converted to pasture and cropland, and 2) concentrations of atmospheric CO2 will continue to rise. In this study, the authors use the National Center for Atmospheric Research GENESIS atmospheric general circulation model, coupled to the Integrated Biosphere Simulator, to determine the combined effects of large-scale deforestation and increased CO2 concentrations (including both physiological and radiative effects) on Amazonian climate.

In these simulations, deforestation decreases basin-average precipitation by 0.73 mm day−1 over the basin, as a consequence of the general reduction in vertical motion above the deforested area (although there are some small regions with increased vertical motion). The overall effect of doubled CO2 concentrations in Amazonia is an increase in basin-average precipitation of 0.28 mm day−1. The combined effect of deforestation and doubled CO2, including the interactions among the processes, is a decrease in the basin-average precipitation of 0.42 mm day−1. While the effects of deforestation and increasing CO2 concentrations on precipitation tend to counteract one another, both processes work to warm the Amazon basin. The effect of deforestation and increasing CO2 concentrations both tend to increase surface temperature, mainly because of decreases in evapotranspiration and the radiative effect of CO2. The combined effect of deforestation and doubled CO2, including the interactions among the processes, increases the basin-average temperature by roughly 3.5°C.

Additional affiliation: Departamento de Engenharia Agrícola, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Vicosa, Brazil.

Corresponding author address: Dr. Jonathan A. Foley, Center for Climate Research, University of Wisconsin—Madison, 1225 West Dayton Street, Madison, WI 53706-1695.

Save
Cover Journal of Climate
Journal of Climate

  • Collatz, G. J., J. T. Ball, C. Grivet, and J. A. Berry, 1991: Physiological and environmental regulation of stomatal conductance, photosynthesis and transpiration: A model that includes a laminar boundary layer. Agric. Forest Meteor.,53, 107–136.

  • ——, M. Ribbas-Carbo, and J. A. Berry, 1992: Coupled photosynthesis-stomatal conductance model for leaves of C4 plants. Aust. J. Plant Physiol.,19, 519–538.

  • Costa, M. H., and J. A. Foley, 1997: The water balance of the Amazon basin: Dependence on vegetation cover and canopy conductance. J. Geophys. Res. (Atmos.),102, 23 973–23 990.

  • ——, and ——, 1998: A comparison of precipitation datasets for the Amazon basin. Geophys. Res. Lett.,25, 155–158.

  • Culf, A. D., J. L. Esteves, A. de O. Marques Filho, and H. R. Rocha, 1996: Radiation, temperature and humidity over forest and pasture in Amazonia. Amazonian Deforestation and Climate, J. H. C. Gash et al., Eds., John Wiley and Sons, 175–192.

  • Dickinson, R. E., and P. Kennedy, 1992: Impacts on regional climate of Amazon deforestation. Geophys. Res. Lett.,19, 1947–1950.

  • ——, A. Henderson-Sellers, P. J. Kennedy, and M. F. Wilson, 1986:Biosphere-Atmosphere Transfer Scheme (BATS) for the NCAR CCM. NCAR/TN-275-STR, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, 72 pp.

  • ——, ——, and ——, 1993: Biosphere–Atmosphere Transfer Scheme (BATS), version 1e as coupled to the NCAR Community Model. NCAR Tech. Note NCAR/TN-387+STR, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, 72 pp.

  • Ducroudé, N., K. Laval, and A. Perrier, 1993: A new set of parameterizations of the hydrologic exchanges at the land–atmosphere interface within the LMD atmospheric general circulation model. J. Climate,6, 248–273.

  • Eltahir, E. A. B., 1996: Role of vegetation in sustaining large-scale atmospheric circulations in the tropics. J. Geophys. Res.,101, 4255–4268.

  • ——, and R. L. Bras, 1994: Precipitation recycling in the Amazon basin. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc.,120, 861–880.

  • Farquhar, G. D., and T. D. Sharkey, 1982: Stomatal conductance and photosynthesis Ann. Rev. Plant Physiol.,33, 317–345.

  • ——, S. von Caemmerer, and J. A. Berry, 1980: A biogeochemical model of photosynthetic CO2 assimilation in leaves of C3 species. Planta,149, 78–90.

  • Fearnside, P. M., 1993: Deforestation in Brazilian Amazonia: The effect of population and land tenure. Ambio,22, 537–545.

  • Foley, J. A., I. C. Prentice, N. Ramankutty, S. Levis, D. Pollard, S. Sitch, and A. Haxeltine, 1996: An integrated biosphere model of land surface processes, terrestrial carbon balance, and vegetation dynamics. Global Biogeochem. Cycles,10, 603–628.

  • Franken, W., and P. R. Leopoldo, 1984: Hydrology of catchment areas of Central-Amazonian forest streams. The Amazon: Limnology and Landscape Ecology of a Mighty Tropical River and its Basin, H. Sioli, Ed., Kluwer Academic, 501–519.

  • Gash, J. H. C., C. A. Nobre, J. M. Roberts, and R. L. Victoria, Eds., 1996: Amazonian Deforestation and Climate. John Wiley and Sons, 611 pp.

  • Hahmann, A. N., and R. E. Dickinson, 1997: RCCM2-BATS model over tropical South America: Applications to tropical deforestation. J. Climate,10, 1944–1964.

  • Henderson-Sellers, A., R. E. Dickinson, T. B. Durbidge, P. J. Kennedy, K. McGuffie, and A. J. Pitman, 1993: Tropical deforestation: Modeling local to regional scale climate change. J. Geophys. Res.,98, 7289–7315.

  • ——, K. McGuffie, and C. Gross, 1995: Sensitivity of global climate model simulations to increased stomatal resistance and CO2 increases. J. Climate,8, 1738–1756.

  • Hodnett, M. G., J. Tomasella, A. de O. Marques Filho, and M. D. Oyama, 1996: Deep soil uptake by forest and pasture in central Amazonia: predictions from long-term daily rainfall data using a simple water balance model. Amazonian Deforestation and Climate, J. H. C. Gash et al., Eds., John Wiley and Sons, 79–100.

  • Houghton, J. T., G. J. Jenkins, and J. J. Ephraums, Eds., 1990: Climate Change—The IPCC Scientific Assessment. Cambridge University Press, 365 pp.

  • Jarvis, P. G., and K. G. McNaughton, 1986: Stomatal control of transpiration: Scaling up from leaf to region. Adv. Ecol. Res.,15, 1–49.

  • Kattenberg, A., and Coauthors, 1996: Climate models—Projections of future climate. Climate Change 1995—The Science of Climate Change, J. T. Houghton, G. J. Jenkins, and J. J. Ephraums, Eds., Cambridge University Press, 285–357.

  • Krug, T., 1998: Recent PRODES deforestation estimates. Second Science Team Meeting of the NASA LBA-Ecology Project, Hunt Valley, MD, NASA.

  • Lean, J., and P. R. Rowntree, 1993: A GCM simulation of the impact of Amazonian deforestation on climate using an improved canopy representation. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc.,119, 509–530.

  • ——, and ——, 1997: Understanding the sensitivity of a GCM simulation of Amazonian deforestation to the specification of vegetation and soil characteristics. J. Climate,10, 1216–1235.

  • Legates, D. R., and C. J. Willmott, 1990: Mean seasonal and spatial variability in gauge-corrected, global precipitation. Int. J. Climatol.,10, 111–127.

  • Leopoldo, P. R., W. Franken, E. Matsui, and M. N. G. Ribeiro, 1982:Estimativa da evapotranspiração da floresta amazônica de terra firme. Acta Amazônica,12, 23–28.

  • Lesack, L. F. W., 1993: Water balance and hydrologic characteristics of a rain forest catchment in the central Amazon basin. Water Resour. Res.,29, 759–773.

  • Leuning, R., 1995: A critical appraisal of a combined stomatal-photosynthesis model for C3 plants. Plant, Cell Environ.,18, 339–355.

  • Manzi, O., and S. Planton, 1996: Calibration of a GCM using ABRACOS and ARME data and simulation of Amazonian deforestation. Amazonian Deforestation and Climate, J. H. C. Gash et al., Eds., John Wiley and Sons, 505–530.

  • McWilliam, A.-L. C., J. M. Roberts, O. M. R. Cabral, M. V. B. R Leitão, A. C. L. da Costa, G. T. Maitelli, and C. A. G. P. Zamparoni, 1993: Leaf area index and above-ground biomass of terra firme rainforest. Funct. Ecol.,7, 310–317.

  • ——, O. M. R. Cabral, B. M. Gomes, J. L. Esteves, and J. M. Roberts, 1996: Forest and pasture leaf-gas exchange in south-west Amazonia. Amazonian Deforestation and Climate, J. H. C. Gash et al., Eds., John Wiley and Sons, 505–530.

  • Mitchell, J. F. B., S. Manabe, V. Meleshko, and T. Tokioka, 1990: Equilibrium climate change—Its implications for the future. Climate Change—The IPCC Scientific Assessment, J. T. Houghton, G. J. Jenkins, and J. J. Ephraums, Eds., Cambridge University Press, 131–172.

  • Monteith, J. L., 1995: Accomodation between transpiring vegetation and the convective boundary layer. J. Hydrol.,166, 251–263.

  • Nepstad, D. C., and Coauthors, 1994: The role of deep roots in the hydrological and carbon cycles of Amazonian forests and pastures. Nature,372, 666–669.

  • Noilhan, J., and S. Planton, 1989: A simple parameterization of land surface processes for meteorological models. Mon. Wea. Rev.,117, 536–549.

  • Page, J. A., 1995: The Brazilians. Addison-Wesley, 540 pp.

  • Polcher, J., and K. Laval, 1994a: The impact of African and Amazonian deforestation on tropical climate. J. Hydrol.,155, 389–405.

  • ——, and ——, 1994b: A statistical study of regional impact of deforestation on climate in the LMD GCM. Climate Dyn.,10, 205–219.

  • Pollard, D., and S. Thompson, 1995: The effect of doubling stomatal resistance in a global climate model. Global Planet. Change,10, 129–161.

  • Roberts, J. M., O. M. R. Cabral, and L. F. Aguiar, 1990: Stomatal and boundary-layer conductances measured in a terra firme rain forest, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. J. Appl. Ecol.,27, 336–353.

  • ——, ——, J. P. da Costa, A.-L. C. McWilliam, and T. D. de A. Sá, 1996: An overview of leaf area index and physiological measurements during ABRACOS. Amazonian Deforestation and Climate, J. H. C. Gash et al., Eds., John Wiley and Sons, 287–306.

  • Rocha, H. R., P. J. Sellers, G. J. Collatz, I. R. Wright, and J. Grace, 1996: Calibration and use of the SiB2 model to estimate water vapour and carbon exchange at the ABRACOS forest sites. Amazonian Deforestation and Climate, J. H. C. Gash et al., Eds., John Wiley and Sons, 459–472.

  • Sá, T. D. A., J. P. R. Costa, and J. M. Roberts, 1996: Forest and pasture conductances in southern Pará, Amazonia. Amazonian Deforestation and Climate, J. H. C. Gash et al., Eds., John Wiley and Sons, 505–530.

  • Sellers, P. J., and Coauthors, 1996a: Comparison of radiative and physiological effects of doubled atmospheric CO2 on climate. Science,271, 1402–1406.

  • ——, S. O. Los, C. J. Tucker, C. O. Justice, D. A. Dazlich, G. J. Collatz, and D. A. Randall, 1996b: A revised land surface parameterization (SiB2) for atmospheric GCMs. Part II: The generation of global fields of terrestrial biophysical parameters from satellite data. J. Climate,9, 706–737.

  • Shuttleworth, W. J., 1988: Evaporation from Amazonian rainforest. Proc. Roy. Soc. London B,233, 321–346.

  • Sud, Y. C., G. K. Walker, J.-H. Kim, G. E. Liston, P. J. Sellers, and W. K.-M. Lau, 1996: Biogeophysical consequences of a tropical deforestation scenario: A GCM simulation study. J. Climate,9, 3225–3247.

  • Thompson, S. L., and D. Pollard, 1995a: A global climate model (GENESIS) with a land surface transfer scheme (LSX). Part I: Present climate simulation. J. Climate,8, 732–761.

  • ——, and ——, 1995b: A global climate model (GENESIS) with a land surface transfer scheme (LSX). Part II: CO2 sensitivity. J. Climate,8, 1104–1121.

  • Warrilow, D. A., A. B. Sangster, and A. Slingo, 1986: Modelling of land surface processes and their influence on European climate. United Kingdom Meteorological Office, Dynamical Climatology Tech. Note DCTN 38, 92 pp. [Available from the United Kingdom Meteorological Office, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 Z52, United Kingdom.].

  • Wright, I. R., and Coauthors, 1996: Towards a GCM surface parameterization for Amazonia. Amazonian Deforestation and Climate, J. H. C. Gash et al., Eds., John Wiley and Sons, 473–504.

  • Xue, Y. K., P. J. Sellers, J. L. Kinter III, and J. Shukla, 1991: A simplified biosphere model for global climate studies. J. Climate,4, 345–364.

All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 0 0 0
Full Text Views 6620 1116 233
PDF Downloads 4909 730 87