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Elevation‐induced climate change as a dominant factor causing the late Miocene C 4 plant expansion in the Himalayan foreland
Author(s) -
Wu Haibin,
Guo Zhengtang,
Guiot Joël,
Hatté Christine,
Peng Changhui,
Yu Yanyan,
Ge Junyi,
Li Qin,
Sun Aizhi,
Zhao Deai
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
global change biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.146
H-Index - 255
eISSN - 1365-2486
pISSN - 1354-1013
DOI - 10.1111/gcb.12426
Subject(s) - aridification , foreland basin , paleoclimatology , climate change , vegetation (pathology) , isotopes of carbon , carbon cycle , geology , climatology , elevation (ballistics) , atmospheric sciences , physical geography , environmental science , ecology , paleontology , ecosystem , biology , geography , total organic carbon , oceanography , medicine , geometry , mathematics , pathology , structural basin
During the late Miocene, a dramatic global expansion of C 4 plant distribution occurred with broad spatial and temporal variations. Although the event is well documented, whether subsequent expansions were caused by a decreased atmospheric CO 2 concentration or climate change is a contentious issue. In this study, we used an improved inverse vegetation modeling approach that accounts for the physiological responses of C 3 and C 4 plants to quantitatively reconstruct the paleoclimate in the Siwalik of Nepal based on pollen and carbon isotope data. We also studied the sensitivity of the C 3 and C 4 plants to changes in the climate and the atmospheric CO 2 concentration. We suggest that the expansion of the C 4 plant distribution during the late Miocene may have been primarily triggered by regional aridification and temperature increases. The expansion was unlikely caused by reduced CO 2 levels alone. Our findings suggest that this abrupt ecological shift mainly resulted from climate changes related to the decreased elevation of the Himalayan foreland.