Assessment of the Climatic Effects of Shelter Forest Construction Based on Ground Observation Data

Abstract: Forests, especially shelter forests, play a crucial role in addressing climate change in aspects such as temperature regulation, humidity control, and wind prevention effects. China’s Three-North Shelter Forest System has been under construction for nearly 50 years so far, and its remarkable ecological effects have been widely recognized. However, current research on its climatic effects is still insufficient. Based on the meteorological data obtained from ground observations, this paper analyzes the impact of shelter forest construction on meteorological factors such as temperature and precipitation. The research results show that the construction of shelter forests has reduced the surrounding temperature by 0.25 ± 0.55℃ and increased precipitation by 57.68 ± 43.64 mm. Among them, the temperature is driven by two competing biophysical effects, namely evaporation cooling and radiative warming, which are closely related to the climatic background, and there are differences in the temperature responses in different months. These changes in meteorological data not only fully reflect the important purpose of shelter forests in wind prevention and sand fixation but also represent a positive climatic effect that is extremely beneficial to vegetation restoration. This study helps to further deepen the understanding of the comprehensive benefits of the Three-North Shelter Forest System and provides practical and effective data support for the scientific planning and construction of shelter forests in the future.