Vegetation & the Terrestrial Carbon Cycle: The First 400 Million Years

Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Preface......Page 9
Acknowledgements......Page 11
Overview......Page 13
The geological timescale......Page 14
Ice age Earth......Page 16
Greenhouse Earth......Page 18
Conclusions......Page 19
Introduction......Page 21
Rubisco......Page 22
Rubisco characteristics......Page 23
Photorespiration......Page 25
Rubisco evolution......Page 28
Stable isotopes of carbon......Page 30
Conclusions......Page 33
Introduction......Page 35
The climatic limits of vegetation......Page 36
500 million years of changing global climate......Page 40
500 million years of terrestrial photosynthesis......Page 46
Testing the predictions of the photosynthetic models......Page 56
Conclusions......Page 61
Introduction......Page 65
General Circulation Model description......Page 66
GCM initialisation and operation......Page 68
GCM simulations of palaeoclimates......Page 69
The basic operational flow of the vegetation model......Page 70
Leaf responses......Page 72
Canopy responses......Page 74
Soil interactions......Page 75
Defining vegetation structure......Page 77
Defining functional types......Page 79
Model runs of LAI and NPP for the present day......Page 81
Global patterns of LAI for the year 1988......Page 83
Global patterns of NPP for the year 1988......Page 99
Predicting the present-day distribution of dominant functional types......Page 105
Conclusions......Page 109
Introduction......Page 112
Effects of the late Carboniferous atmosphere on photorespiration......Page 114
Effects of the late Carboniferous atmosphere on leaf gas exchange......Page 117
Photosynthesis and plant growth in the late Carboniferous......Page 122
The late Carboniferous global climate......Page 126
Comparison of model results with the geological record......Page 130
The impact of O2 on global terrestrial productivity and C storage......Page 136
Decomposition rates and C storage in terrestrial ecosystems......Page 140
C3 and C4 plant distribution in the Carboniferous......Page 141
Fire and late Carboniferous terrestrial ecosystems......Page 142
Conclusions......Page 146
Introduction......Page 147
Atmospheric CO2 and climatic change across the Triassic–Jurassic boundary......Page 149
Consequences for plant adaptation and survival......Page 150
Plant acclimation to high CO2 concentration......Page 155
The late Jurassic global climate......Page 159
Global patterns of photosynthesis in the late Jurassic......Page 161
Comparison of modelled vegetation activity with palaeodata......Page 167
Global terrestrial productivity in the late Jurassic......Page 168
CO2 impacts on vegetation function......Page 173
Distribution of plant functional types in the late Jurassic......Page 184
Comparison with the Jurassic geological record......Page 188
Conclusions......Page 194
Introduction......Page 195
The global mid-and late Cretaceous environment......Page 198
Post-K/T boundary impact environments......Page 205
Short-term post-impact environment…......Page 206
Long-term post-impact environment…......Page 210
Global vegetation productivity and structure in the Cretaceous......Page 211
Global carbon storage by terrestrial ecosystems in the Cretaceous......Page 218
Loss of carbon by global wildfire at the K/T boundary......Page 225
Post-K/T boundary changes in ecosystem properties and the geological record......Page 231
Stable carbon isotope constraints on modelled Cretaceous vegetation activity......Page 235
Global-scale distribution of plant functional types......Page 236
Changes in plant family diversity through the Cretaceous......Page 244
Conclusions......Page 247
Introduction......Page 250
Global climates of the Eocene and the future......Page 257
Comparison of Eocene GCM climate with geological data......Page 261
Structure and productivity of terrestrial vegetation in the Eocene......Page 269
Feedbacks of Eocene vegetation on climate......Page 275
Terrestrial productivity of early Tertiary fossil forests......Page 276
Global vegetation distribution in the Eocene and in the future......Page 279
Carbon storage by terrestrial ecosystems in the Eocene and the future......Page 283
Conclusions......Page 290
Introduction......Page 292
Gas exchange responses of C3 plants to a glacial–interglacial cycle of environmental change......Page 295
Global climate change since the LGM......Page 300
Changes in global primary productivity and vegetation structure since the LGM......Page 305
Distribution of plant functional types since the LGM......Page 315
The changing distribution of C4 plants since the LGM......Page 326
Changes in terrestrial carbon storage since the LGM......Page 332
Global C discrimination by the terrestrial biosphere in the late Quaternary: implications for land carbon storage......Page 336
Vegetation and the oxygen isotope composition of atmospheric O2......Page 344
Conclusions......Page 350
The climatic scenarios......Page 352
Net primary productivity......Page 354
Net ecosystem production......Page 355
Runoff......Page 357
Carbon sequestration......Page 358
Changes in the distributions of dominant functional types......Page 360
Conclusions......Page 364
The carbon cycle......Page 365
Plant species......Page 369
Contemporary and future timescales......Page 371
Conclusions......Page 372
References......Page 373
Index......Page 407