The 170 National Forests and Grasslands (NFs) in the conterminous United States are public lands that provide important ecosystem services such as clean water and timber supply to the American people. This study investigates the potential impacts of climate change on two key ecosystem functions (i.e., water yield and ecosystem productivity) using the most recent climate projections derived from 20 Global Climate Models (GCMs) of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5).

Contrary to popular expectations, the effects of forest cover on regional climate might be limited and the influence of forestation on water resources might be negative says this new study by Csaba Mátyás, Ge Sun published in Environmental Research Letters.