What We Do To The Land Impacts Weather and Climate
The great untold story in climate is how "land use" impacts weather, as well as the catastrophic events (flooding, drought and wildfires) thought to be caused by "climate change."
The presence or absence of plant matter can have a dramatic impact on weather and climate.
Plants intercept rainfall and prevent flooding. Rainfall clings to the leaves and the bark, and then falls to the ground or evaporates. Either way prevents runoff and flooding.
Plant roots infuse carbon into the soil, giving it life and making it into a sponge that absorbs rainfall, preventing both floods and drought.
Trees shed leaves, leaving “leaf litter,” which absorbs rainfall and prevents flooding.
The leaf litter helps turn the soil into a sponge, capturing rainfall.
Plants transpire (emit) water vapor, thus providing raw material for the next rainfall.
This transpiration of water vapor has a direct cooling effect on the surroundings.
Plants and trees cast shade, which cools the air and surfaces.
Trees emit a type of bacteria called aerobacter, which helps form water droplets, thus causing cloud formation and precipitation.
Trees and plants create a cool, moist environment into which the rain can fall. If the environment is hot and dry, this can discourage and prevent rainfall.
Trees and plants form the basis of an ecosystem which continually absorbs and stores carbon, as long as the ecosystem is allowed to grow and thrive.
Trees and plants also form the basis of an ecosystem which continually absorbs water. It thereby becomes a reservoir of water. Any area that contains more water will warm up and cool down more slowly, thus avoiding extreme temperatures.
We could go on to describe the “services” performed by plants and the ecosystems that they support.
The call to action seems obvious … Wherever possible, we should let plants grow. We should avoid cutting, mowing and spraying as much as we do. If we can do that, we will enjoy cooler temperatures in the summer, and we will avoid some of the catastrophes (flooding, drought and wildfires) sometimes falsely attributed to “climate change.”