Let's talk about deforestation. Pick nearly any location in North America or Western Europe (I know it's true in Pennsylvania) and look at landscape photos or paintings from 100+ years ago and you see very few trees. They had been cut down for fuel and lumber and farm land over the centuries. Look today, at the same spots, and you see the forests are back -- big time. Even in places were there were historically few trees such as the Great Plains there are now considerable plots of man-made forest.
In North America and Europe, there are more acres of forest now than there were 100 years ago. Wouldn't that imply that we should be seeing less drought, flooding and cooler temps than a century ago?
In the US, there was massive deforestation in the 1800's, homesteaders were given tracts and were required to clear them of trees. For every 160 acres they agreed to clear, they were allowed to have another 30 acres to keep in timber. If you didn't clear the land in five years, you were not allowed any more homestead acreage.
It is well known that American deforestation caused the dust bowls, it is illegal in N Dakota to cut down the quarter section treelines.
The benefit of trees is well demonstrated.
The midwestern forests are not back, I grew up in Clayton County, Iowa and drive through the Midwest often. I have planted trees there in our family forest. Iowa has avery aggressive reforestation plan, free seedlings, minimal property taxes, and still people aren't planting many trees. Urbanization is still claiming more forests.