{"id":375562,"date":"2025-04-18T13:11:21","date_gmt":"2025-04-18T11:11:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=375562"},"modified":"2025-04-18T13:11:23","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T11:11:23","slug":"reversing-soil-desiccation-cooler-moister-greener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=375562","title":{"rendered":"Reversing soil desiccation: cooler, moister, greener"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Climate Etc.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Douglas Sheil<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week an article in Science, by Seo and colleagues, provided compelling evidence that the world\u2019s land surface is getting drier. This global drying averaged a loss across all land surfaces of over two centimeters of water in two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trends suggest these losses continue. The authors highlighted the role of climate warming in this desiccation and claimed the changes are \u201cpermanent\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/lnkd.in\/eUV82jjV<\/a>
This claim of permanence was repeated uncritically in a shorter commentary piece in the same issue of the journal.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/lnkd.in\/e5r2_4mp<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pierre L. Ibisch<\/a> and I see these trends differently. The changes may indeed be permanent but they needn\u2019t be. It\u2019s up to us. The role of land cover has been overlooked and is key. It wont be easy but with sufficient effort we should be able to fix this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We submitted our comments to Science and the text is now appended below the online version of the original article (an \u201ceLetter\u201d). It is open access if you click through here:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/lnkd.in\/eUV82jjV<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Earth is drying. Seo et al. (1) highlight an alarming shift: while for most of the planet\u2019s history, a warming climate brought a wetter, greener world (2, 3), it now brings desiccation (1, 4). Our biosphere\u2019s water-regulating functions are broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile climate science and policy focus on greenhouse gases, they often neglect vegetation\u2019s role in keeping the planet cool and hydrated. Forests, wetlands, and other ecosystems regulate temperatures and drive the water cycle (5) \u2014 but degradation has impaired these services. Feedbacks from droughts, heatwaves, and declining vegetation now amplify local and regional warming (6, 7). Nonlinear responses risk abrupt shifts and catastrophic tipping points (8, 9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solutions become clear when we recognise water and vegetation as partners in climate regulation. Protecting and restoring forests and wetlands does more than sequester carbon \u2014 it rebuilds the processes that keep landscapes cool, moist, and productive. Managing land to increase infiltration, reduce runoff, and restore soil water storage helps sustain transpiration and cool the land (5, 9-11). We need to revive a \u201csponge planet\u201d (12) and support place-based innovations like \u201csponge cities\u201d that enhance water retention where it\u2019s most needed (13).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Policymakers must act boldly to safeguard \u201cgreen water\u201d (5, 14). Land-use decisions must prioritise ecosystems that regulate moisture and climate. Strong incentives are essential: those who degrade should pay; those who protect and restore must be rewarded. The message is simple and urgent: a cool, moist, green planet is our best defence against a drier, warmer world. It remains possible. The time to act is now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

L. Wang-Erlandsson et al., Nature Reviews Earth & Environment 3, 380-392 (2022).<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

K.-W. Seo et al., Science 387, 1408-1413 (2025).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U. Salzmann et al., Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 309, 1-8 (2011).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M. T. Clementz, J. O. Sewall, Science 332, 455-458 (2011).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

P. De Luca, M. G. Donat, Geophysical Research Letters 50, e2022GL102493 (2023).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D. Ellison et al., Global Environmental Change 43, 51-61 (2017).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

C. Smith, J. C. A. Baker, D. V. Spracklen, Nature,\u00a0 (2023).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D. L. Schumacher, J. Keune, P. Dirmeyer, D. G. Miralles, Nature Geoscience 15, 262-268 (2022).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

T. M. Lenton et al., Proceedings of the national Academy of Sciences 105, 1786-1793 (2008).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A. M. Makarieva et al., Global Change Biology 29, 2536\u20132556 (2023).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D. Ellison, J. Pokorn\u00fd, M. Wild, Global Change Biology 30, e17195 (2024).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D. Sheil, Forest Ecosystems 5, 1-22 (2018).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

K. Yu, E. Gies, W. W. Wood, Nature Water, 1-3 (2025).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Z. Zheng, X. Zhang, W. Qiao, R. Zhao, Water Resources Management, 1-15 (2025).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week an article in Science, by Seo and colleagues, provided compelling evidence that the world\u2019s land surface is getting drier. This global drying averaged a loss across all land surfaces of over two centimeters of water in two decades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":375566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818087,691826367,691834607,691834608],"class_list":["post-375562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-global-warming","tag-policymakers","tag-science-article","tag-seo-and-colleagues","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0methys-pcs-5-1536x862-1-1280x720-1.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1zHs","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":368436,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=368436","url_meta":{"origin":375562,"position":0},"title":"The Rain in Spain Stays Mainly the Same","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"03\/03\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I came across a study that\u2019s been getting some play in the usual climatastrophist circles. The study is entitled","rel":"","context":"In \"Global warming\"","block_context":{"text":"Global warming","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=global-warming"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0P1060546.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0P1060546.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0P1060546.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0P1060546.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0P1060546.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":456338,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=456338","url_meta":{"origin":375562,"position":1},"title":"Wrong, USA Today, There\u2019s No Evidence that Climate Change Will Cause Higher Water Bills","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"07\/18\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"USA Today claims in \u201cYour water bill could skyrocket due to climate change, study says\u201d that hotter, drier conditions caused by global warming could double residentially water bills across parts of the western United States. This is highly misleading.","rel":"","context":"In \"California\"","block_context":{"text":"California","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=california"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0-ChatGPT-Wrong-USA-Today-Theres-No-Evidence-that-Climate-Change-Will-Cause-Higher-Water-Bills.png?fit=1200%2C731&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0-ChatGPT-Wrong-USA-Today-Theres-No-Evidence-that-Climate-Change-Will-Cause-Higher-Water-Bills.png?fit=1200%2C731&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0-ChatGPT-Wrong-USA-Today-Theres-No-Evidence-that-Climate-Change-Will-Cause-Higher-Water-Bills.png?fit=1200%2C731&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0-ChatGPT-Wrong-USA-Today-Theres-No-Evidence-that-Climate-Change-Will-Cause-Higher-Water-Bills.png?fit=1200%2C731&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0-ChatGPT-Wrong-USA-Today-Theres-No-Evidence-that-Climate-Change-Will-Cause-Higher-Water-Bills.png?fit=1200%2C731&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":366767,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=366767","url_meta":{"origin":375562,"position":2},"title":"Climate change on land and over the ocean – trials and tribulations","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"02\/18\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"It is noticeable that land masses generally warm up more than oceans, the factor is 2.3 overall. You can also see immediately that the most warming is far in the north. This is the consequence of the \"Arctic amplification\" of warming. The earth receives most of the sun's power all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0Burnt-Earth-Global-Warming-Climate-Change.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0Burnt-Earth-Global-Warming-Climate-Change.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0Burnt-Earth-Global-Warming-Climate-Change.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0Burnt-Earth-Global-Warming-Climate-Change.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0Burnt-Earth-Global-Warming-Climate-Change.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":354072,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=354072","url_meta":{"origin":375562,"position":3},"title":"Michael Mann\u2019s Latest Attempts to Support the \u2018Hockey Stick\u2019 Graph Aren\u2019t Even Convincing Alarmists","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"12\/12\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Atlantic hurricane season has come to an end, and the global warming believers have been looking for records to ascribe to global warming. According to a\u00a0NOAA\u00a0news report, the end-of-season flourish of cyclone activity was as predicted, and a record for the period. The\u00a0BBC Weather\u00a0commented that the activity corresponded with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO)\"","block_context":{"text":"Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=atlantic-multidecadal-oscillation-amo"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/02024-02-15-17_02_48-mann-thumb-clean.jpg-1800%C3%971013-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C671&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/02024-02-15-17_02_48-mann-thumb-clean.jpg-1800%C3%971013-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C671&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/02024-02-15-17_02_48-mann-thumb-clean.jpg-1800%C3%971013-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C671&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/02024-02-15-17_02_48-mann-thumb-clean.jpg-1800%C3%971013-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C671&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/02024-02-15-17_02_48-mann-thumb-clean.jpg-1800%C3%971013-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C671&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":262780,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=262780","url_meta":{"origin":375562,"position":4},"title":"Claim: We\u2019ve Pumped So much Groundwater that We\u2019ve Nudged the Earth\u2019s Spin","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"06\/19\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The shifting of mass and consequent sea level rise due to groundwater withdrawal has caused the Earth\u2019s rotational pole to wander nearly a meter in two decades","rel":"","context":"In \"Earth\u2019s rotational pole\"","block_context":{"text":"Earth\u2019s rotational pole","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=earths-rotational-pole"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0635861451597973607-Morocco-PumpedDry17.webp?fit=1200%2C678&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0635861451597973607-Morocco-PumpedDry17.webp?fit=1200%2C678&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0635861451597973607-Morocco-PumpedDry17.webp?fit=1200%2C678&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0635861451597973607-Morocco-PumpedDry17.webp?fit=1200%2C678&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0635861451597973607-Morocco-PumpedDry17.webp?fit=1200%2C678&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":364453,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=364453","url_meta":{"origin":375562,"position":5},"title":"Climate Whiplash and California Wildfires","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"02\/04\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The difference between weather and climate is constantly mistaken by climate change advocates Recently Southern California wildfires have been blamed on climate change.\u00a0\u00a0Patrick Brown addressed\u00a0the question how much did \u201cClimate Whiplash\u201d impact the Los Angeles fires. \u00a0His excellent analysis raises concerns that I want to highlight.","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0ss-170710-california-wildfires-se-01.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0ss-170710-california-wildfires-se-01.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0ss-170710-california-wildfires-se-01.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0ss-170710-california-wildfires-se-01.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0ss-170710-california-wildfires-se-01.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=375562"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":375568,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375562\/revisions\/375568"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/375566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=375562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=375562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=375562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}