Paleovegetation maps (V1.0)

These are vegetation maps for the present (prior to the anthropogenic disturbance) and the last glacial maximum. The reconstruction is from T. Crowley, 1995, Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles 9:377-389. Please see that paper for details of the reconstruction and the uncertainties thereof. File users may want to modify some of these fields based on their own knowledge or new data; occasional modifications by us may occur in the future. Modifications by us will be indicated by new version numbers.

These vegetation fields are at 2 deg. resolution and range from 359 deg. W to 359 deg. E and from 89 deg. N to 89 deg. S, thus giving a total field size of 180 by 90. A table indicating the biome equivalents for each symbol in the files is given below. This table is also included at the end of each of the data files. Raw data files (Data) are available for each version. Also available are PostScript versions of each picture (PostScript), a GMT script which was used to make the PostScript version (GMT Script), and a NetCDF data file used by the GMT script (GMT NetCDF Data). If you want a closer look onscreen, then you can click on each GIF image to obtain a larger GIF that just about fills up a typical 17 inch screen. 


 SYMBOL             BIOME

   1        tropical rainforest
   2        deciduous
   3        mixed deciduous/conifer
   4        conifer
   5        arid/tropical grassland
   6        savanna
   7        temperate grassland
   8        scrub/grass
   9        semi-desert
   A        tundra etc.
   B        desert
   I        ice
 blank     ocean

Present (Undisturbed) [ Data / PostScript / GMT Script / GMT NetCDF Data ]
This is a reconstruction of the global vegetation field as it was before major anthropogenic disturbances approximately 2000 years ago.
[IMAGE]

21 KBP (GBC Version) [ Data / PostScript / GMT Script / GMT NetCDF Data ]
This is a reconstruction of the global vegetation field at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). A version of this appeared in "Ice age terrestrial carbon changes revisited" by Thomas J. Crowley (Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Vol. 9, 1995, pp. 377-389).
[IMAGE]

21 KBP (JGR Version) [ Data / PostScript / GMT Script / GMT NetCDF Data ]
This is also a reconstruction of the global vegetation field at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). It differs from the above in that the "tropical grassland" and "temperate grassland" categories have been combined into a single "grassland" category. Simulations performed with this version of the reconstruction are described in "Effect of vegetation on an ice-age climate model simulation" by Thomas J. Crowley and Steven K. Baum (Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 102, 1997, pp. 16,463-16,480). The list of biomes for this version is:
[IMAGE] 

 SYMBOL             BIOME

   1        tropical rainforest
   2        deciduous
   3        mixed deciduous/conifer
   4        conifer
   6        savanna
   7        grassland
   8        scrub/grass
   9        semi-desert
   A        tundra etc.
   B        desert
   I        ice
 blank     ocean

21 KBP (Adams Version) [ Data / PostScript / GMT Script / GMT NetCDF Data ]
This is a reconstruction of the global vegetation field at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) by Jonathan Adams. It uses the same categories as does the LGM version above, although it significantly differs from that version. [IMAGE]

Miscellaneous combinations

A single page version of both the GBC and JGR versions with the former on top.
[ PostScript / GMT Script ]
[IMAGE]

A single page version of both the GBC and Adams version with the former on top.
[ PostScript / GMT Script ]
[IMAGE]

A single page version of both the JGR and Adams version with the former on top.
[ PostScript / GMT Script ]
[IMAGE]

Last modified: Mar. 18, 1998

T. Crowley
Texas A&M University
Dept. of Oceanography
College Station, TX 77843