Forest-driven water and energy cycles are poorly integrated into local, national, and international decision-making on climate change, land use and water management. This Talk will present new research results on forest, water, and energy interactions that provide the foundations for cooling terrestrial surfaces and for distributing water resources. Our call to action targets a reversal of paradigms, from a carbon-centric model to one that treats the hydrologic and climate-cooling effects of trees and forests as the first order of priority.
