Farming, Logging and Other Land Uses Affect World’s Climate, Scientists Say

Intensive farming, logging and other landscape changes play a major role in the world’s climate, say scientists who also report that the 20th century is the warmest in 1,200 years. Wholesale changes in land use coincide with rising temperatures and rainfall shifts, and some researchers now suspect that their importance is equal to that of global warming.

The conclusions, discussed this week at the meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, were based on computer model simulations and field observations across the globe, from South America to Africa to Florida. The findings suggest that international guidelines under negotiation to control climate change by limiting industrial emissions may also need to target farmers, loggers and developers.

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Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II