Implications of Tropical Deforestation for Regional and Global Hydroclimate

Land-cover heterogeneity created by deforestation of tropical forests generates atmospheric circulations that can trigger the formation of clouds and result in enhanced precipitation over the deforested region. Furthermore, the regional perturbation in atmospheric pressure generated by such massive land-cover change can excite synoptic-scale waves that propagate outside of tropical regions, resulting in significant change in the annual precipitation pattern at mid- and even high latitudes.