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Detailed Reference Information
Liu et al. 2006
Liu, Z., Wang, Y., Gallimore, R., Notaro, M. and Prentice, I.C. (2006). On the cause of abrupt vegetation collapse in North Africa during the Holocene: Climate variability vs. vegetation feedback. Geophysical Research Letters 33: doi: 10.1029/2006GL028062. issn: 0094-8276.

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.

BACKGROUND DATA FILES

Abstract

Keywords
Global Change, Abrupt/rapid climate change (4901, 8408), Atmospheric Processes, Climate change and variability (1616, 1635, 3309, 4215, 4513), Paleoceanography, Abrupt/rapid climate change
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
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