Modelling the effects of CO₂ on C₃ and C₄ grass competition during the mid-Pleistocene transition in South Africa.

ABSTRACT: Palaeoenvironmental reconstructions of the interior of South Africa show a wetter environment than today and a non-analogous vegetation structure in the Early Pleistocene. This includes the presence of grasses following both C₃ and C₄ photosynthetic pathways, whereas C₃ grasses decline after the mid-Pleistocene transition (MPT, c. 1.2-0.8 Ma). However, the local terrestrial proxy record cannot distinguish between the potential drivers of these vegetation changes. In this study we show that low glacial CO₂ levels, similar to those at the MPT, lead to the local decline of C₃ grasses under conditions of decreased water availability, using a vegetation model (LPX) driven by Atmosphere-Ocean coupled General Climate Model climate reconstruct

SUBMITTER: Ecker M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7530989 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature