# Would Forest Regrowth Compensate for Climate Change in the Amazon Basin?
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Sensitivity of Fluxes and Precipitation to Land Cover Change across the Basin
#### 3.2.2 Moisture Flux and Precipitation  
Our results showed that reforestation significantly increased the domain-averaged available moisture to the atmosphere (QFX) (Figure 7), mostly during May-November, by 27%. The maximum increase in moisture flux occurred in August and September, about 0.03 g m\({}^{-2}\) s\({}^{-1}\), especially in the arc of deforestation which has had significant widespread deforestation. However, other heavily deforested areas of the basin (along the rivers in the centroid of the basin, and near Joutilos) did not exhibit significant changes in moisture flux. These regions receive much more rainfall and have virtually no dry season. The QFX value of 0.01 g m\({}^{-2}\) s\({}^{-1}\) in the difference panel of Figure 7 converts to approximately 25 mm/month of precipitation, which is at the upper end of the RMSE that was measured by global ET products [62].  
Figure 4: Simulated LH, forced with current and reforested land cover on the left. On the right, the difference between the two simulated LHs at a 95% significance level. Plus signs indicate major cities.  
Figure 5: Simulated SH, forced with current and reforested land cover on the left. On the right, the difference between the two simulated SHs at a 95% significance level. Plus signs indicate major cities.  
Figure 6: Simulated temperature, forced with current and reforested land cover on the left. On the right, the difference between the two simulated temperatures is at a 95% significance level. Plus signs indicate major cities.  
Figure 7: Simulated QFX, forced with current and reforested land cover on the left. On the right, the difference between the two simulated QFXs is at a 95% significance level. Plus signs indicate major cities.  
Simulated precipitation data showed that the mean seasonal precipitation increased with forest regrowth by 5 mm/day (Figure 8). During May-November, these changes are spatially located on the west side of the region where the moisture gets transferred making more cloud fractions indicating the tele-connection impacts of reforestation on precipitation, as discussed in Ref. [63]. According to Ref. [19] precipitation is produced by both large and small-scale forcings, including thunderstorms and the development of deep convection at a larger scale and through shallow convection at a local scale. During December-April across the basin, Rossby waves can propagate northward and produce precipitation. Squall lines originating on the northeast coast of South America transport moisture and precipitation west toward the Andes. At larger scales, although the positioning and strength of the ITCZ control different precipitation regimes in the region, El Nino can affect the Walker-type circulations and can thus affect the spatial distribution of rainfall [64; 65]. Therefore, the amount of rainfall is likely more dependent on synoptic-scale forcings such as the ITCZ and Walker-type cells and less on localized reforestations. Reforestation provides moisture, but larger processes typically initiate rainfall.  
Thus, following potential reforestation in the Amazon Basin, changes in the biophysical characteristics of the land surface can affect the fluxes of heat and moisture behavior. As such, forest rehabilitation across the Amazon Basin can make the atmosphere cooler with more moisture and LH, especially during May-November. In addition, some laterally translated features suggest that land cover creates perturbations that get advected elsewhere, and large patterns also exist that suggest continent/synoptic-scale processes are being modified as a result of deforestation. This suggests complex interactions between climate and LCC that we will explore in future work.  
Figure 8: Simulated precipitation, forced with current and reforested land cover on the left. On the right, the difference between the two simulated precipitations is at a 95% significance level. Plus signs indicate major cities.