More than mitigation: The role of forests in climate adaptation

Josephine Elena Reek; Constantin M. Zohner; Gabriel Reuben Smith; Susan C. Cook-Patton; Pieter De Frenne; Paolo D’Odorico; Marius G. Floriancic; Robert B. Jackson; Julia A. Jones; James W. Kirchner; Marysa Laguë; Yuting Liang; Yuta J. Masuda; Robert I. McDonald; Luke A. Parsons; Benedict S. Probst; June T. Spector; Thales A.P. West; Nicholas H. Wolff; Florian Zellweger; Thomas W. Crowther

doi:10.1126/science.ads4361

More than mitigation: The role of forests in climate adaptation

Josephine Elena Reek^*
, Constantin M. Zohner
, Gabriel Reuben Smith
, Susan C. Cook-Patton
, Pieter De Frenne
, Paolo D’Odorico
, Marius G. Floriancic
, Robert B. Jackson
, Julia A. Jones
, James W. Kirchner
, Marysa Laguë
, Yuting Liang
, Yuta J. Masuda
, Robert I. McDonald
, Luke A. Parsons
, Benedict S. Probst
, June T. Spector
, Thales A.P. West
, Nicholas H. Wolff
, Florian Zellweger

Thomas W. Crowther

^*Corresponding author for this work

Environmental Geography

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Review article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Forests regulate global and local climates in ways that impact human well-being. In this review, we discuss the scale-dependent mechanisms through which forests regulate climate, highlighting their contributions to global mitigation and local adaptation. Locally, forests tend to buffer temperatures, cooling in warm conditions and warming in cold ones. In regions that naturally support dense forest cover, trees contribute to global cooling primarily through carbon uptake, with some offsetting from albedo-related warming. by enhancing rainfall interception, evapotranspiration, and cloud formation, forests also influence the hydrological cycle, lowering flood risks in humid regions but often reducing downstream water availability, especially in drier climates. Collectively, these interacting processes show that the greatest climate benefits occur where forests are native, highlighting their importance for both climate adaptation and mitigation.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	669-678
Number of pages	10
Journal	Science
Volume	391
Issue number	6786
Early online date	12 Feb 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ads4361
Publication status	Published - 12 Feb 2026

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2026 The Authors, some rights reserved.

Funding

The authors thank J. Macrae for inspiring this research and C. Chouliara for creating the graphic in Fig. 1. The authors thank Y. Li, D. Miralles, F. Zhong, and R. van der Ent for providing data. This work was supported by DOB Ecology (J.E.R., T.W.C.); the Bernina Initiative (J.E.R., T.W.C.); Swiss National Science Foundation Ambizione grant PZ00P3_216194 (G.R.S.); Swiss National Science Foundation Ambizione Fellowship program PZ00P3_193646 (C.M.Z.); Swiss National Science Foundation Ambizione Fellowship program PZ00P3_193645 (F.Z.); funding to the Andrews Forest program, Oregon, US, from the US Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station (J.A.J.) and NSF grants 0218088, 0823380, 1440409, and 2025755 (J.A.J.); the Bezos Earth Fund (S.C.C.-P.); and ERC Consolidator Grant CanopyChange 101124948 (P.D.F.). The authors thank J. Macrae for inspiring this research and C. Chouliara for creating the graphic in Fig. 1.The authors thank Y. Li, D. Miralles, F.Zhong, and R. van der Ent for providing data. Funding: This work was supported by DOB Ecology (J.E.R.,T.W.C.); the Bernina Initiative (J.E.R.,T.W.C.); Swiss National Science Foundation Ambizione grant PZ00P3_216194 (G.R.S.); Swiss National Science Foundation Ambizione Fellowship program PZ00P3_193646 (C.M.Z.); Swiss National Science Foundation Ambizione Fellowship program PZ00P3_ 193645 (F.Z.); funding to the Andrews Forest program, Oregon, US, from the US Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station (J.A.J.) and NSF grants 0218088, 0823380, 1440409, and 2025755 (J.A.J.); the Bezos Earth Fund (S.C.C.-P.); and ERC Consolidator Grant CanopyChange 101124948 (P.D.F.). Author contributions: Conceptualization: J.E.R., G.R.S., C.M.Z.,T.W.C.; Writing – original draft: all authors; Writing – review & editing: all authors. Competing interests: T.W.C. is an unpaid board member for the nonprofit organizations Restor Eco AG and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. S.C.C.-P. is on the technical advisory board for the Symbiosis Coalition. Data, code, and materials availability: Data for Fig. 2A comes from (25); Fig. 2B from (2); Fig. 2C from (69); Fig. 2D from (79); Fig. 2E from (197); and Fig. 3 from (27, 198). No new materials were created in this study. License information: Copyright © 2026 the authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original US government works. https://www.science.org/about/science-licenses-journal-article-reuse

Funders	Funder number
DOB Ecology
Bernina Initiative
Bezos Earth Fund
Pacific Northwest Research Station
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung	PZ00P3_193646, PZ00P3_216194, PZ00P3_ 193645
National Science Foundation	0823380, 0218088, 1440409, 2025755
European Research Council	101124948

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Reek, J. E., Zohner, C. M., Smith, G. R., Cook-Patton, S. C., De Frenne, P., D’Odorico, P., Floriancic, M. G., Jackson, R. B., Jones, J. A., Kirchner, J. W., Laguë, M., Liang, Y., Masuda, Y. J., McDonald, R. I., Parsons, L. A., Probst, B. S., Spector, J. T., West, T. A. P., Wolff, N. H., ... Crowther, T. W. (2026). More than mitigation: The role of forests in climate adaptation. Science, 391(6786), 669-678. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ads4361

@article{e474a4583c874050b8aa7b5eac0bd81b,

title = "More than mitigation: The role of forests in climate adaptation",

abstract = "Forests regulate global and local climates in ways that impact human well-being. In this review, we discuss the scale-dependent mechanisms through which forests regulate climate, highlighting their contributions to global mitigation and local adaptation. Locally, forests tend to buffer temperatures, cooling in warm conditions and warming in cold ones. In regions that naturally support dense forest cover, trees contribute to global cooling primarily through carbon uptake, with some offsetting from albedo-related warming. by enhancing rainfall interception, evapotranspiration, and cloud formation, forests also influence the hydrological cycle, lowering flood risks in humid regions but often reducing downstream water availability, especially in drier climates. Collectively, these interacting processes show that the greatest climate benefits occur where forests are native, highlighting their importance for both climate adaptation and mitigation.",

author = "Reek, \{Josephine Elena\} and Zohner, \{Constantin M.\} and Smith, \{Gabriel Reuben\} and Cook-Patton, \{Susan C.\} and \{De Frenne\}, Pieter and Paolo D{\textquoteright}Odorico and Floriancic, \{Marius G.\} and Jackson, \{Robert B.\} and Jones, \{Julia A.\} and Kirchner, \{James W.\} and Marysa Lagu{\"e} and Yuting Liang and Masuda, \{Yuta J.\} and McDonald, \{Robert I.\} and Parsons, \{Luke A.\} and Probst, \{Benedict S.\} and Spector, \{June T.\} and West, \{Thales A.P.\} and Wolff, \{Nicholas H.\} and Florian Zellweger and Crowther, \{Thomas W.\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} 2026 The Authors, some rights reserved.",

year = "2026",

month = feb,

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doi = "10.1126/science.ads4361",

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Reek, JE, Zohner, CM, Smith, GR, Cook-Patton, SC, De Frenne, P, D’Odorico, P, Floriancic, MG, Jackson, RB, Jones, JA, Kirchner, JW, Laguë, M, Liang, Y, Masuda, YJ, McDonald, RI, Parsons, LA, Probst, BS, Spector, JT, West, TAP, Wolff, NH, Zellweger, F & Crowther, TW 2026, 'More than mitigation: The role of forests in climate adaptation', Science, vol. 391, no. 6786, pp. 669-678. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ads4361

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AU - Reek, Josephine Elena

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AU - De Frenne, Pieter

AU - D’Odorico, Paolo

AU - Floriancic, Marius G.

AU - Jackson, Robert B.

AU - Jones, Julia A.

AU - Kirchner, James W.

AU - Laguë, Marysa

AU - Liang, Yuting

AU - Masuda, Yuta J.

AU - McDonald, Robert I.

AU - Parsons, Luke A.

AU - Probst, Benedict S.

AU - Spector, June T.

AU - West, Thales A.P.

AU - Wolff, Nicholas H.

AU - Zellweger, Florian

AU - Crowther, Thomas W.

PY - 2026/2/12

Y1 - 2026/2/12

N2 - Forests regulate global and local climates in ways that impact human well-being. In this review, we discuss the scale-dependent mechanisms through which forests regulate climate, highlighting their contributions to global mitigation and local adaptation. Locally, forests tend to buffer temperatures, cooling in warm conditions and warming in cold ones. In regions that naturally support dense forest cover, trees contribute to global cooling primarily through carbon uptake, with some offsetting from albedo-related warming. by enhancing rainfall interception, evapotranspiration, and cloud formation, forests also influence the hydrological cycle, lowering flood risks in humid regions but often reducing downstream water availability, especially in drier climates. Collectively, these interacting processes show that the greatest climate benefits occur where forests are native, highlighting their importance for both climate adaptation and mitigation.

AB - Forests regulate global and local climates in ways that impact human well-being. In this review, we discuss the scale-dependent mechanisms through which forests regulate climate, highlighting their contributions to global mitigation and local adaptation. Locally, forests tend to buffer temperatures, cooling in warm conditions and warming in cold ones. In regions that naturally support dense forest cover, trees contribute to global cooling primarily through carbon uptake, with some offsetting from albedo-related warming. by enhancing rainfall interception, evapotranspiration, and cloud formation, forests also influence the hydrological cycle, lowering flood risks in humid regions but often reducing downstream water availability, especially in drier climates. Collectively, these interacting processes show that the greatest climate benefits occur where forests are native, highlighting their importance for both climate adaptation and mitigation.

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ER -

More than mitigation: The role of forests in climate adaptation

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

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