Did the rise of highly-transpiring angiosperms influenced Cretaceous climate ? A modelling approach with the IPSL atmosphere-land surface model.
<p><span><span>The Cretaceous angiosperm radiation was a major event for terrestrial plant evolution, and flowering plants represent more than 94 % of present-day plant diversity. The fossil record shows that angiosperm leaf vein densities reached particularly high values (> 12 mm/mm</span></span><sup><span><span>2</span></span></sup><span><span>)</span></span> <span><span>between the </span></span><span>Albian and the Cenomanian (108&#8211;94 Ma) </span><span><span>compared to gymnosperms (~ 2.5 mm/mm</span></span><sup><span><span>2</span></span></sup><span><span>). Empirical models</span></span> <span><span>also suggest that stomatal conductance to water vapour increases as a response to higher leaf vein densities. How much do this shift to higher values of stomatal conductance have modified the continental transpiration budget,</span></span> <span><span>and ultimately global hydrological cycle ? To address this question we used the IPSL coupled atmosphere-vegetation model forced by Cretaceous boundary conditions, and built plant functional types including</span></span> <span><span>stomatal conductance values consistent with the fossil record. We quantify the transpiration fluxes through different sensitivity experiments and explore the vegetation-atmosphere feedbacks and their impact on the Cretaceous climate.</span></span></p>