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On the cause of abrupt vegetation collapse in North Africa during the Holocene: Climate variability vs. vegetation feedback
Author(s) -
Liu Zhengyu,
Wang Yi,
Gallimore Robert,
Notaro Michael,
Prentice I. Colin
Publication year - 2006
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 - 10.1029/2006gl028062
Subject(s) - vegetation (pathology) , holocene , desertification , climatology , geology , mechanism (biology) , climate model , climate change , environmental science , physical geography , geography , ecology , oceanography , medicine , pathology , philosophy , epistemology , biology
The abrupt desertification over the northern Africa in the mid‐Holocene is studied in both a complex and a simple coupled climate‐vegetation model. In contrast to the previous mechanism that relies on strong positive vegetation‐climate feedback and the resulted multiple equilibria, we propose a new mechanism in which the abrupt desertification is caused by low frequency climate variability, rather than a positive vegetation‐climate feedback. The implication of this new mechanism to modelling and observation is also discussed.