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The climate induced variation of the continental biosphere: A model simulation of the Last Glacial Maximum
Author(s) -
Friedlingstein P.,
Delire C.,
Müller J. F.,
Gérard J. C.
Publication year - 1992
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 - 10.1029/92gl00546
Subject(s) - last glacial maximum , tundra , biosphere , precipitation , environmental science , vegetation (pathology) , climatology , climate model , glacial period , biosphere model , physical geography , atmospheric sciences , downscaling , climate change , geology , geography , ecology , meteorology , geomorphology , oceanography , medicine , arctic , pathology , biology
A simplified three‐dimensional global climate model was used to simulate the surface temperature and precipitation distributions for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), 18 000 years ago. These fields were applied to a bioclimatic scheme wich parameterizes the distribution of eight vegetation types as a function of biotemperature and annual precipitation. The model predicts a decrease, for LGM compared to present, in forested area balanced by an increase in desert and tundra extent, in agreement with a reconstruction of the distribution of vegetation based on paleodata. However, the estimated biospheric carbon content (phytomass and soil carbon) at LGM is less reduced than in the reconstructed one. Possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed.