{"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":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_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":{"0":"post-375562","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-global-warming","9":"tag-policymakers","10":"tag-science-article","11":"tag-seo-and-colleagues","13":"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":206542,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=206542","url_meta":{"origin":375562,"position":0},"title":"Changes in the Greenland Ice Sheet Mass: Crisis in the Making, or Example of Uncertainty in Climate Science?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"30\/06\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Michael F. Cochrane, Ph.D. \u201cMuch climate reporting today highlights short-term changes when they fit the narrative of a broken climate but then ignores or plays down changes when they don\u2019t, often dismissing them as \u2018just weather\u2019,\u201d wrote theoretical physicist Steven Koonin, former Under Secretary for Science at the Department\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image-124.png?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image-124.png?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image-124.png?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image-124.png?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":368436,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=368436","url_meta":{"origin":375562,"position":1},"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":262780,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=262780","url_meta":{"origin":375562,"position":2},"title":"Claim: We\u2019ve Pumped So much Groundwater that We\u2019ve Nudged the Earth\u2019s Spin","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"19\/06\/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":414140,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=414140","url_meta":{"origin":375562,"position":3},"title":"Just How Good Were the Early Climate Models?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"21\/11\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"An article by Nadir Jeevanjee, a Research Physical Scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),\u00a0recently published in\u00a0The Conversationand\u00a0reprinted by\u00a0Space.Com, suggests that climate models are being given a bad rap. 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