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Terrestrial ecosystem responses to global environmental change across the Cretaceous‐Tertiary boundary
Author(s) -
Lomax B. H.,
Beerling D. J.,
Upchurch G. R.,
OttoBliesner B. L.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/1999gl011097
Subject(s) - cretaceous , biogeochemistry , terrestrial ecosystem , environmental science , ecosystem , environmental change , climate change , vegetation (pathology) , carbon cycle , global change , productivity , precipitation , atmospheric sciences , primary production , climatology , geology , physical geography , ecology , oceanography , geography , paleontology , meteorology , biology , medicine , macroeconomics , pathology , economics
Investigations of long‐term (10³–10 5 yr) environmental change across the Cretaceous‐Tertiary (K/T) boundary resulting from the impact of a large bolide indicate increases in temperature and precipitation due to the impact‐related release of CO 2 . We evaluate the effects of these long‐term changes in the global environment on terrestrial ecosystems using a vegetation‐biogeochemistry model forced with a ‘best guess’ modified latest Cretaceous climate simulation by the GENESIS atmospheric general circulation model. The imposition of long‐term global environmental changes after the K/T impact resulted in spatially heterogeneous increases in canopy leaf area index, net primary productivity, and soil carbon concentrations, relative to the latest Cretaceous preimpact situation. Terrestrial carbon storage increased by circa 2000 Gt.