The large mean body size of mammalian herbivores explains the productivity paradox during the Last Glacial Maximum

Nature Ecology & Evolution
Dan ZhuSergey Zimov

Abstract

Large herbivores are a major agent in ecosystems, influencing vegetation structure, and carbon and nutrient flows. During the last glacial period, a mammoth steppe ecosystem prevailed in the unglaciated northern lands, supporting a high diversity and density of megafaunal herbivores. The apparent discrepancy between abundant megafauna and the expected low vegetation productivity under a generally harsher climate with a lower CO2 concentration, termed the productivity paradox, requires large-scale quantitative analysis using process-based ecosystem models. However, most of the current global dynamic vegetation models (DGVMs) lack explicit representation of large herbivores. Here we incorporated a grazing module in a DGVM based on physiological and demographic equations for wild large grazers, taking into account feedbacks of large grazers on vegetation. The model was applied globally for present-day and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The present-day results of potential grazer biomass, combined with an empirical land-use map, infer a reduction in wild grazer biomass by 79-93% owing to anthropogenic land replacement of natural grasslands. For the LGM, we find that the larger mean body size of mammalian herbivores than today is t...Continue Reading

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Citations

Oct 24, 2018·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Christopher N JohnsonDavid M J S Bowman
Nov 29, 2020·Nature Communications·E T BorerE W Seabloom
Jan 22, 2021·Scientific Data·Erick J LundgrenJens-Christian Svenning
Jul 10, 2021·Nature Communications·Manuel WillAndrea Manica
Aug 26, 2021·Nature Communications·Robert M BeyerAndrea Manica
Oct 8, 2021·Scientific Reports·Julia V TejadaBrian N Popp

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Software Mentioned

MICT
GM
BIOME
DGVM
SECHIBA
ORCHIDEE
GUESS DGVM
Anthromes
STOMATE
LPJ

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