Pollen-based biome reconstructions over the past 18,000 years and atmospheric CO2 impacts on vegetation in equatorial mountains of Africa

Our sensitivity experiment and inverse-vegetation modeling approach show that changes in atmospheric CO2 concentration unequally influence vegetation in different local environments. The study also suggests that the biome changes prior to the Holocene result from both changes in the atmospheric CO2 concentration and climate. The development of warm-mixed forest from xerophtic vegetation results from increases in atmospheric CO2 concentration and near-surface air temperature. Difference in local dryness results in the different biome distributions, with more forest-type biomes at Bambili and more grass/shrub-type biomes at Rusaka.