Abstract

Tropical deforestation is a current anthropogenic change to the land surface. Tropical forests are known to be changing rapidly, but the rate and extent of deforestation and the resulting secondary cover, as would be needed for quantitative projections of future change, are difficult to establish now. Also necessary for climate simulations is a description of the micrometeorological processes within the forest canopy, including especially the processes of evapotranspiration and interception. Past General Circulation Model sensitivity studies have established the potential major significance of perturbation of surface energy processes. Climate modeling sensitivity studies and ecological systems studies have highlighted the importance of the surface energy balance and the hydrological cycle over continental areas. However, predicting even the local, immediate effects of replacing tropical broadleaved forest with impoverished grassland is difficult because the land-surface parameterization schemes used in most climate models have been inadequate.

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