Impact of various land cover transformations on climate change:insights from a spatial panel analysis

This study introduces an innovative empirical methodology by integrating spatial panel models with satellite imagery data from 1970 to 2019. This innovative approach illuminates the effects of greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and various global variables on regional temperature shifts and the environmental repercussions of land-use alterations, establishing a substantial empirical basis for climate change. The results revealed that global variables such as sunspot activity, the length of day (LOD), and the Global Mean Sea Level (GMSL) have negligible impacts on global temperature variations. This model uncovers the nuanced effect of deforestation on global temperatures, highlighting a decrease in temperature following deforestation above 40°N latitude, contrary to the warming effect observed in lower latitudes. Exceptionally, deforestation within the 10° N to 10° S tropical bands results in a temperature decrease, challenging the established theories. The results suggest that converting forests to grass/shrublands and croplands plays a significant role in these temperature dynamics.