Regional characteristics of climate change altering effects of afforestation

Climatic effects of forest cover change have been investigated for Hungary.For the time period 2071-100 we have analyzed whether the climate change signal for summer precipitation and the probability of droughts can be reduced assuming maximal afforestation for the entire country (forests covering all vegetated areas).The biogeophysical effects of land cover change have been assessed using the results of an A1B IPCC-SRES emission scenario from REMO (regional climate model at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg).The simulation results indicate that afforestation may reduce the projected climate change through higher evapotranspiration and precipitation as well as lower surface temperature for the entire summer period.The magnitude of the feedback of the forest cover increase on precipitation differs among regions.The strongest effects are visible in the northeastern part of the country.Here, half of the projected precipitation decrease can be relieved and the total number of drought events can be reduced, assuming maximal afforestation.Afforestation brings about the smallest climatic effect in the southwestern region, in the area that shows the strongest climate change.The results can help to identify areas where forest cover increase should most effectively support the alleviation of climate change effects.