A century of reforestation helped keep the eastern US cool (2024)

Anecdata: I have a plot of land in the Santa Cruz Mountains and half of it has redwood coverage and the other half is sparsely covered by much smaller species. On hot days I can go to the redwood half and get an easy 10F temperature drop.

Shade is part of the equation and so is retaining water. Once I was introduced to the idea of check dams and their role in water conservation, I started noticing how the redwoods often build their own on hilly terrain.

The landscape in a forest can be quite complex and rich.

Can feel the same effect here in CA. I’ve heard that in areas with more humidity the effect is much weaker though, presumably because the air has higher heat capacity or something and so doesn’t cool as quickly in the shade.

I live in the Midwest US, plenty humid here in the summer but it’s consistently 5 degrees cooler in my wooded neighborhood than it is in the nearest town about 10 miles away. The effect is real.

Interesting. I asked a friend from Texas and he said he wasn't even aware that shade was cooler until he moved out. Need more data.