Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40057471›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Observed different impacts of potential tree restoration on local surface and air temperature.

Yitao Li, Zhao-Liang Li, Hua Wu, Xiangyang Liu, Xu Lian, Menglin Si, Jing Li, Chenghu Zhou, Ronglin Tang, Sibo Duan and 6 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Cooling outweighs warming across phenological transitions in the Northern Hemisphere.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Yitao LiState Key Laboratory of Resources and Environment Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7496-2956
Zhao-Liang LiState Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arable Land in China, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China. lizhaoliang@caas.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4861-4357
Hua WuSchool of Resources and Environment, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5982-8422
Xiangyang LiuState Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arable Land in China, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
Xu LianDepartment of Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1428-3529
Menglin SiState Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arable Land in China, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6668-9010
Jing LiState Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arable Land in China, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
Chenghu ZhouCenter for Ocean Remote Sensing of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou Institute of Geography, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3331-2302
Ronglin TangState Key Laboratory of Resources and Environment Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Sibo DuanState Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arable Land in China, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
Wei ZhaoInstitute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4839-6791
Pei LengState Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arable Land in China, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
Xiaoning SongUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Qian ShiSchool of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Enyu ZhaoCollege of Information Science and Technology, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, China.
Caixia GaoKey Laboratory of Quantitative Remote Sensing Information Technology, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 41921001National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 42071331
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Tree restoration can cool or warm the local climate through biophysical processes. However, the magnitude of these effects remains unconstrained at large scales, as most previous observational studies rely on land surface temperature (Ts) rather than the more policy-relevant air temperature (Ta). Using satellite observations, we show that Ta responds to tree cover change at only 15-30% of the magnitude observed in Ts. This difference is supported by independent evidence from site observations, and can be attributed to the reduced aerodynamic resistance and the resultant flatter near-surface temperature profiles in forests compared to non-forests. At mid- or high-latitudes, the maximum seasonal biophysical Ta warming or cooling only accounts for approximately 10% of the equivalent climate effect of carbon sequestration in terms of magnitude, whereas the biophysical Ts effect can reach 40%. These findings highlight the importance of selecting the appropriate temperature metric in different applications to avoid exaggerating or underestimating the biophysical impacts of forestation.

Identifiers

PMID40057471
PMCPMC11890605

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.