DOI:10.28974/idojaras.2019.4.8 535 IDŐJÁRÁS Quarterly Journal of the Hungarian Meteorological Service Vol. 123, No. 4, October – December, 2019, pp. 535–550 Hydrological role of Central European forests in changing climate –review Zoltán Gribovszki, Péter Kalicz, Michael Palocz-Andresen*, Dóra Szalay, and Tünde Varga University of Sopron Bajcsy-Zs. u. 4, 9400 Sopron, Hungary *Corresponding Author E-mail: palocz-andresen.michael@uni-sopron.hu (Manuscript received in final form December 23, 2018) Abstract⎯ Climate change exerts one of the most relevant impacts on hydrological processes by altering precipitation patterns and evapotranspiration processes. Forests, the terrestrial ecosystems with the highest water demand, will likely be the most influenced by the changing water regime. The study aims to outline the vital role forests play in the global water cycle, a role that increases as climate change intensifies. The deforestation that has occurred in recent years is a main trigger of global climate change, one that negatively affects climate-sensitive areas. The study focuses on the importance of crown and litter interception as well as the manner in which climate change alters these. We also present some results for forest and groundwater relations in Hungary and the impact of forests on runoff during extreme weather conditions. Key-words: forest hydrology, climate change, interception, groundwater, runoff 1. Introduction Forest vegetation currently covers 37% of global land surface and is known for its high carbon-absorbing capacity. Nevertheless, recent practices – primarily changes in land use – have accelerated deforestation considerably with forest cover loss reaching 29.7 million hectares (73.4 million acres) globally in 2016 (Weisse and Goldman, 2017). Agricultural land expansion causes about 80% of