It is hypothesized that planting bands of vegetation with widths of the order of 50–100 km in semiarid regions could, under favorable large-scale atmospheric conditions, result in increases of convective precipitation. These increases, which could be greater than those associated with the uniform vegetating of large areas, would occur through three major mechanisms. The first would be the modification of the environment to a state more conducive to the formation of moist convection through an increase of low-level moist static energy. This increase would be associated with a decrease in albedo, an increase in net radiation, and an increase in evapotranspiration. The second important mechanism would be the generation of mesoscale (horizontal scale of 20–200 km) circulations associated with the surface inhomogeneities created on this scale by the vegetation. The third mechanism would be the increase of atmospheric water vapor through decreased runoff and increased evaporation. A number of observati... Abstract It is hypothesized that planting bands of vegetation with widths of the order of 50–100 km in semiarid regions could, under favorable large-scale atmospheric conditions, result in increases of convective precipitation. These increases, which could be greater than those associated with the uniform vegetating of large areas, would occur through three major mechanisms. The first would be the modification of the environment to a state more conducive to the formation of moist convection through an increase of low-level moist static energy. This increase would be associated with a decrease in albedo, an increase in net radiation, and an increase in evapotranspiration. The second important mechanism would be the generation of mesoscale (horizontal scale of 20–200 km) circulations associated with the surface inhomogeneities created on this scale by the vegetation. The third mechanism would be the increase of atmospheric water vapor through decreased runoff and increased evaporation. A number of observati...