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Progress in Physical Geography
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Tropical deforestation and climate change

Karen L. O'Brien

Department of Geography, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA

This article reviews the physical links between tropical rain forests and the atmos phere, and considers the results of studies which address the climatic impacts of deforestation. Tropical deforestation is widely believed to influence local, regional and possibly global cli mates. Although the relationship between deforestation and climate change is complex, there is a growing consensus that deforestation leads to warmer, drier climates. The consensus is based on experimental studies at the microscale and modelling studies at the global scale, sup plemented by a small number of observational studies at the local and regional scale. However, none of the local and regional studies examine both deforestation and climate change in a rigorous manner, or consider the results in the context of synoptic-scale phenomena. Conse quently, there is considerable uncertainty associated with the local and regional impacts of deforestation on the climate.

Key Words: tropical deforestation • climate change • general circulation models.

Progress in Physical Geography, Vol. 20, No. 3, 311-335 (1996)
DOI: 10.1177/030913339602000304
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