Land cover change - To what degree do human land cover dynamics affect climate change? [Past]

Abstract

Historic changes in land use have altered the land surface significantly. For example, since the early 19th century, there has been a substantial increase in the area of cropland in the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The pronounced tropical deforestation during the 20th century has paralleled the large-scale development of urban settlements and irrigated agriculture. The land-cover changes have resulted in a number of alterations in the regional and global climate system, primarily by: 1) Changing the surface albedo; 2) Changing the surface evapotranspiration; 3) Modifying winds, heat wave resilience, vulnerability to floods and other such factors in the proximity of human settlements; and 4) Modifying atmospheric CO2 uptake.