Regional Assessment of the impact of vegetation feedback on climate prediction in West Africa and the Mediterranean

A regional climate model (RegCM3) linked to a dynamic vegetation model (CLM-DGVM) is used to explore the impact of vegetation dynamics on the projections of future climate changes for West Africa and for the Mediterranean. Boundary conditions for RegCM3 are provided by 20th century and SRESA1b simulations from the NCAR CCSM3.0. Three experiments, a present day climate run with dynamic vegetation, a future climate run with dynamic vegetation, and a future climate run with static vegetation (i.e. vegetation fixed at the present day state), are performed. These experiments are so designed in order to isolate the role of structural vegetation feedback. The results illustrate the importance of including vegetation feedback in predictions of future climate changes and the regional differences in its impact.