The Role of Tropical Forests in Supporting Biodiversity and Hydrological Integrity : A Synoptic Overview

Conservation of high-biodiversity tropical forests is sometimes justified on the basis of assumed hydrological benefits - in particular, the reduction of flooding hazards for downstream floodplain populations. However, the "far-field" link between deforestation and distant flooding has bee...

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Main Authors: Douglas, Ellen M., Sebastian, Kate, Vörösmarty, Charles J., Wood, Stanley, Chomitz, Kenneth M.
Format: Policy Research Working Paper
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2005/06/5860911/role-tropical-forests-supporting-biodiversity-hydrological-integrity-synoptic-overview
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/8323
id okr-10986-8323
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-83232021-04-23T14:02:42Z The Role of Tropical Forests in Supporting Biodiversity and Hydrological Integrity : A Synoptic Overview Douglas, Ellen M. Sebastian, Kate Vörösmarty, Charles J. Wood, Stanley Chomitz, Kenneth M. AGRICULTURAL LAND AGRICULTURAL LAND USE AGRICULTURAL POLICY AGRICULTURE ANNUAL RUNOFF BASINS BIODIVERSITY BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION BIOGEOGRAPHY BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY BIOLOGY BIOSPHERE BOUNDARIES CARBON CYCLE CARBON STORAGE CATCHMENT CHANNEL CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE CLIMATE VARIABILITY CLIMATIC CHANGE CONIFEROUS FORESTS CONSERVATION CROPLAND CROPS DATA SETS DECIDUOUS FORESTS DEFORESTATION DISCHARGE DRAINAGE EARTH ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES ECOSYSTEM ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY ECOSYSTEMS ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE EROSION EROSION CONTROL EVAPOTRANSPIRATION FLOODING FLOODPLAINS FLOODS FOREST FOREST AREAS FOREST CLEARING FOREST CONSERVATION FOREST CONVERSION FOREST COVER FOREST DWELLERS FOREST PRESERVATION FOREST SYSTEMS FORESTS GEOSPHERE GRASSLAND GRASSLANDS GRAZING GRAZING LANDS GREENHOUSE GAS GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS HUMAN ACTIVITIES HUMAN SETTLEMENTS HYDROLOGICAL MODELS LAND COVER LAND COVER CHANGE LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION LAND PRODUCTIVITY LAND USE LAND USE CHANGE LAND USE PRACTICES LAND USES LAND-USE LATITUDE LOGGING LONGITUDE MOUNTAINS NORTH AMERICA OCEANS PASTURE PASTURELAND PEAK FLOWS PHYSICS PLANT SPECIES POINT POTENTIAL IMPACTS PRECIPITATION PRESERVATION RAINFALL REMOTE SENSING RIVER BASINS RIVER SYSTEMS RUNOFF SAVANNAS SOIL SOIL MOISTURE SOIL PHYSICS SOIL PROPERTIES SOIL WATER SOIL WATER CONTENT SOILS SOUTH AMERICA SOUTHEAST ASIA STORMS STUDY AREA TIMBER TIMBER TRADE TREES TROPICAL FORESTS TROPICS UNEP UPLAND LAND UPLANDS VEGETATION WATER BALANCE WATER CYCLE WATERSHED WATERSHED MANAGEMENT WATERSHEDS WILDLIFE WOOD Conservation of high-biodiversity tropical forests is sometimes justified on the basis of assumed hydrological benefits - in particular, the reduction of flooding hazards for downstream floodplain populations. However, the "far-field" link between deforestation and distant flooding has been difficult to demonstrate empirically. This simulation study assesses the relationship between forest cover and hydrology for all river basins intersecting the world's tropical forest biomes. The study develops a consistent set of pan-tropical land cover maps gridded at one-half degree latitude and longitude. It integrates these data with existing global biogeophysical data. The study applies the Water Balance Model - a coarse-scale process-based hydrological model - to assess the impact of land cover changes on runoff. It quantifies the impacts of forest conversion on biodiversity and hydrology for two scenarios - historical forest conversion and the potential future conversion of the most threatened remaining tropical forests. A worst-case scenario of complete conversion of the most threatened of the remaining forested areas would mean the loss of another three million k 2012-06-18T19:14:11Z 2012-06-18T19:14:11Z 2005-06 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2005/06/5860911/role-tropical-forests-supporting-biodiversity-hydrological-integrity-synoptic-overview http://hdl.handle.net/10986/8323 English Policy Research Working Paper; No. 3635 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic AGRICULTURAL LAND
AGRICULTURAL LAND USE
AGRICULTURAL POLICY
AGRICULTURE
ANNUAL RUNOFF
BASINS
BIODIVERSITY
BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION
BIOGEOGRAPHY
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
BIOLOGY
BIOSPHERE
BOUNDARIES
CARBON CYCLE
CARBON STORAGE
CATCHMENT
CHANNEL
CLIMATE
CLIMATE CHANGE
CLIMATE VARIABILITY
CLIMATIC CHANGE
CONIFEROUS FORESTS
CONSERVATION
CROPLAND
CROPS
DATA SETS
DECIDUOUS FORESTS
DEFORESTATION
DISCHARGE
DRAINAGE
EARTH
ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES
ECOSYSTEM
ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY
ECOSYSTEMS
ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
EROSION
EROSION CONTROL
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
FLOODING
FLOODPLAINS
FLOODS
FOREST
FOREST AREAS
FOREST CLEARING
FOREST CONSERVATION
FOREST CONVERSION
FOREST COVER
FOREST DWELLERS
FOREST PRESERVATION
FOREST SYSTEMS
FORESTS
GEOSPHERE
GRASSLAND
GRASSLANDS
GRAZING
GRAZING LANDS
GREENHOUSE GAS
GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
HUMAN ACTIVITIES
HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
HYDROLOGICAL MODELS
LAND COVER
LAND COVER CHANGE
LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION
LAND PRODUCTIVITY
LAND USE
LAND USE CHANGE
LAND USE PRACTICES
LAND USES
LAND-USE
LATITUDE
LOGGING
LONGITUDE
MOUNTAINS
NORTH AMERICA
OCEANS
PASTURE
PASTURELAND
PEAK FLOWS
PHYSICS
PLANT SPECIES
POINT
POTENTIAL IMPACTS
PRECIPITATION
PRESERVATION
RAINFALL
REMOTE SENSING
RIVER BASINS
RIVER SYSTEMS
RUNOFF
SAVANNAS
SOIL
SOIL MOISTURE
SOIL PHYSICS
SOIL PROPERTIES
SOIL WATER
SOIL WATER CONTENT
SOILS
SOUTH AMERICA
SOUTHEAST ASIA
STORMS
STUDY AREA
TIMBER
TIMBER TRADE
TREES
TROPICAL FORESTS
TROPICS
UNEP
UPLAND LAND
UPLANDS
VEGETATION
WATER BALANCE
WATER CYCLE
WATERSHED
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT
WATERSHEDS
WILDLIFE
WOOD
spellingShingle AGRICULTURAL LAND
AGRICULTURAL LAND USE
AGRICULTURAL POLICY
AGRICULTURE
ANNUAL RUNOFF
BASINS
BIODIVERSITY
BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION
BIOGEOGRAPHY
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
BIOLOGY
BIOSPHERE
BOUNDARIES
CARBON CYCLE
CARBON STORAGE
CATCHMENT
CHANNEL
CLIMATE
CLIMATE CHANGE
CLIMATE VARIABILITY
CLIMATIC CHANGE
CONIFEROUS FORESTS
CONSERVATION
CROPLAND
CROPS
DATA SETS
DECIDUOUS FORESTS
DEFORESTATION
DISCHARGE
DRAINAGE
EARTH
ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES
ECOSYSTEM
ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY
ECOSYSTEMS
ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
EROSION
EROSION CONTROL
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
FLOODING
FLOODPLAINS
FLOODS
FOREST
FOREST AREAS
FOREST CLEARING
FOREST CONSERVATION
FOREST CONVERSION
FOREST COVER
FOREST DWELLERS
FOREST PRESERVATION
FOREST SYSTEMS
FORESTS
GEOSPHERE
GRASSLAND
GRASSLANDS
GRAZING
GRAZING LANDS
GREENHOUSE GAS
GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
HUMAN ACTIVITIES
HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
HYDROLOGICAL MODELS
LAND COVER
LAND COVER CHANGE
LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION
LAND PRODUCTIVITY
LAND USE
LAND USE CHANGE
LAND USE PRACTICES
LAND USES
LAND-USE
LATITUDE
LOGGING
LONGITUDE
MOUNTAINS
NORTH AMERICA
OCEANS
PASTURE
PASTURELAND
PEAK FLOWS
PHYSICS
PLANT SPECIES
POINT
POTENTIAL IMPACTS
PRECIPITATION
PRESERVATION
RAINFALL
REMOTE SENSING
RIVER BASINS
RIVER SYSTEMS
RUNOFF
SAVANNAS
SOIL
SOIL MOISTURE
SOIL PHYSICS
SOIL PROPERTIES
SOIL WATER
SOIL WATER CONTENT
SOILS
SOUTH AMERICA
SOUTHEAST ASIA
STORMS
STUDY AREA
TIMBER
TIMBER TRADE
TREES
TROPICAL FORESTS
TROPICS
UNEP
UPLAND LAND
UPLANDS
VEGETATION
WATER BALANCE
WATER CYCLE
WATERSHED
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT
WATERSHEDS
WILDLIFE
WOOD
Douglas, Ellen M.
Sebastian, Kate
Vörösmarty, Charles J.
Wood, Stanley
Chomitz, Kenneth M.
The Role of Tropical Forests in Supporting Biodiversity and Hydrological Integrity : A Synoptic Overview
relation Policy Research Working Paper; No. 3635
description Conservation of high-biodiversity tropical forests is sometimes justified on the basis of assumed hydrological benefits - in particular, the reduction of flooding hazards for downstream floodplain populations. However, the "far-field" link between deforestation and distant flooding has been difficult to demonstrate empirically. This simulation study assesses the relationship between forest cover and hydrology for all river basins intersecting the world's tropical forest biomes. The study develops a consistent set of pan-tropical land cover maps gridded at one-half degree latitude and longitude. It integrates these data with existing global biogeophysical data. The study applies the Water Balance Model - a coarse-scale process-based hydrological model - to assess the impact of land cover changes on runoff. It quantifies the impacts of forest conversion on biodiversity and hydrology for two scenarios - historical forest conversion and the potential future conversion of the most threatened remaining tropical forests. A worst-case scenario of complete conversion of the most threatened of the remaining forested areas would mean the loss of another three million k
format Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
author Douglas, Ellen M.
Sebastian, Kate
Vörösmarty, Charles J.
Wood, Stanley
Chomitz, Kenneth M.
author_facet Douglas, Ellen M.
Sebastian, Kate
Vörösmarty, Charles J.
Wood, Stanley
Chomitz, Kenneth M.
author_sort Douglas, Ellen M.
title The Role of Tropical Forests in Supporting Biodiversity and Hydrological Integrity : A Synoptic Overview
title_short The Role of Tropical Forests in Supporting Biodiversity and Hydrological Integrity : A Synoptic Overview
title_full The Role of Tropical Forests in Supporting Biodiversity and Hydrological Integrity : A Synoptic Overview
title_fullStr The Role of Tropical Forests in Supporting Biodiversity and Hydrological Integrity : A Synoptic Overview
title_full_unstemmed The Role of Tropical Forests in Supporting Biodiversity and Hydrological Integrity : A Synoptic Overview
title_sort role of tropical forests in supporting biodiversity and hydrological integrity : a synoptic overview
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2012
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2005/06/5860911/role-tropical-forests-supporting-biodiversity-hydrological-integrity-synoptic-overview
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/8323
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