[EvaH (OP)]

Bill says:

There's lots of talk about how much CO2 a tree absorbs and how the air temperature in the open, as opposed to under a canopy, is not that great, but it seems to me we are missing the important factor here.

The canopy "keeps the soil cooler" by as much as 40° F. Imagine how that temperature difference affects water content of soil, life in the soil, and how sustained exposure to that much temperature change ruins the processes that define air cooling in the canopy model. Is it not the heat retention of the exposed soil that is our enemy here?

What do you think?