(i) Micro-climate: Deforestation of TRF leads to drastic changes in microclimate (Lal and Cummings, 1979), as outlined in Fig. 6. In general, deforestation eliminates the buffering effect of vegetation cover and accentuates the extremes. Fluctuations in micro-climatic parameters are greatly enhanced (e.g., relative humidity, maximum and minimum temperatures for soil and air). Deforestation decreases rainfall effectiveness and increases aridization of the climate. Forest removal increases the magnitude and intensity of net radiation reaching the soil surface. Ghuman and Lal (1987) observed that in south central Nigeria, on average, 10.5 and ll.5 MJ/m2/day of insolation were received on a cleared site compared to 0.4 and 0.3 MJ/m2/day in the forest during the dry seasons of 1984 and 1985, respectively. There was no apprec