The Climate Impacts of Mid-1800s Deforestation and Subsequent Reforestation

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC | Join us in welcoming Elizabeth Burakowski, Ph.D from University of NH.  She will discuss The Climate Impacts of Mid-1800s Deforestation and Subsequent Reforestation. Everyone is welcome and snacks will be available.

When settlers first arrived in New England in the early 1600s, much of the region was covered in primeval forest. Native Americans, in tune with the seasonal shifts in climate, with few exceptions treaded lightly on the land. By the mid-1800s, New England settlers had cleared vast amounts of forest for agriculture, pasture, fuel to heat homes, and timber to build cities, towns, and ships. The New England region rapidly transformed from a landscape characterized by old growth forest in the 1600s to one that saw nearly half of its trees removed by 1850. A variety of societal forces converged leading to widespread agricultural land abandonment and regrowth of forests. The transformation of the landscape, in turn, had interesting impacts on surface climate in the region. The research presented in this talk evaluates the effects of mid-1800s deforestation and subsequent reforestation on surface albedo (reflectivity), evaporative cooling, and canopy roughness-induced turbulence. Specifically, deforestation affected the exchange of energy and water between the land surface and atmosphere, resulting in colder winters and warmer summers.