Water resources remain sustainable in global revegetated regions

Intense debate surrounds the question of whether transpiration from revegetated regions may exacerbate water shortages globally. Using outputs from 20 CMIP6 models for 1982-2016 and 2030-2100 alongside observations, we find that the water resources remaining after subtracting increased evapotranspiration from rainfall and meltwater from snow and glaciers exceeded human usage during 1982-2016 across almost three quarters (72.2%) of global revegetated regions. CMIP6 projections for 2030-2100 indicate that human water demand is likely to be met in 79.4% of revegetated regions, but India and Oceania warrant attention because of possible precipitation decline and/or population growth. Approximately 1.6% of currently bare regions (40.6 × 10⁴ km²) in Canada, Central Asia, and the fringes of deserts have adequate water for revegetation over 2030-2100. These findings underscore the necessity of strategic water management and monitoring in revegetated areas to balance ecological benefits with human water needs.