I think the differences between forest and agricultural area will be very large. Some forests are known to create their own micro-climate, living (partly) on their own transpiration. Also take into account that agricultural area is harvested every year or even more frequent, so that the soil is bare for a couple of months. I would have to dive into my study material to find out what the effects will be, but I think it is very interesting to find out! A recent study in Canada showed that when forest is cut (or in the case of the study, killed by beetles) the groundwater replenishment decreased due to more evaporation, caused by more sunlight, higher temperatures and more wind.

Published March 11, 2017 09:51 by Berend van der Zwaan, Hydrologist at Eelerwoude