Ecohydrological energy inputs in semiarid coniferous gradients: Responses to management- and drought-induced tree reductions

▶ Forest management requires considering trends with amount of tree cover in abiotic properties. ▶ The amount of solar radiation near the ground affects understory vegetation and soil evaporation. ▶ Solar radiation input and spatial heterogeneity varies with type of coniferous tree cover. ▶ Tree cover reductions via die-off, wildfire, or thinning differentially alter solar radiation input. ▶ Such input differences are substantial enough to be important in many contexts.