Simulated Terrestrial Warming at the Last Interglacial Due to Vegetation Change

Abstract

Paleo-proxy records suggest that vegetation at the Last Interglacial (LIG) was different from pre-industrial (PI), including a greener Sahara and a northward expanded boreal forest at high northern latitudes. Not accounting for these differences may have contributed to an underestimation of temperature and precipitation changes in paleoclimate simulations. Here, we use the LPJ-GUESS dynamic vegetation model to generate a static vegetation map for the LIG as a boundary condition for the ACCESS-ESM1.5 model to assess the impact of vegetation changes on climate. Compared to PI, bare ground fractions decrease globally, resulting in a more vegetated state, particularly in northern Africa and at h..