Loss of vegetation functions during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum
Rogger et al. (2025): Loss of vegetation functions during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum
Julian Rogger, Vera A. Korasidis, Gabriel J. Bowen, Christine A. Shields, Taras V. Gerya & Loïc Pellissier, IN: Nature Communications, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-66390-8
The Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) around 56 million years ago was a 5–6°C global warming event that lasted for approximately 200 kyr. A warming-induced loss and a 70–100 kyr lagged recovery of biospheric carbon stocks was suggested to have contributed to the long duration of the climate perturbation. Here, the authors use a trait-based, eco-evolutionary vegetation model to test whether the PETM warming exceeded the adaptation capacity of vegetation systems, impacting the efficiency of terrestrial organic carbon sequestration and silicate weathering.