Selection processes of (changes in) land use and afforestation patterns

Abstract

It is well known that forest ecosystems provide important functions in global and regional climate by strongly influencing the exchanges of energy and moisture between the earth's surface and the adjacent atmosphere (e.g. Taylor and Lebel 1998). The protective cover of the forest canopy influences the physical characteristics of the land surface such as albedo, rainfall interception and surface roughness (e.g. Xue and Shukla 1994). Changes in the physical properties of a forested area such as the removal of forest canopy by natural disturbances such as fire or anthropogenic causes (e.g. Shine and Forster de 1999) will cause changes in the surface albedo thus causing radiative-forcing change affecting the regional radiation balance (IPCC 2001). © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.