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Abstract

This study investigates the impact of vegetation-climate feedback on the global monsoon (GM) during two key periods, the Last Interglacial (LIG, 127 000 years BP) and the mid-Holocene (MH, 6 000 years BP), using the earth system model EC-Earth3. The simulations reveal that changes in vegetation lead to an expansion of the GM area by 0.2% and 1.1% during the LIG and MH, respectively. Notably, the North African region experiences the most significant increase in vegetation, resulting in the largest expansion in the North African monsoon area, expanding by 7.6% and 6.0% during the LIG and MH, respectively. The enhanced vegetation feedbacks lead to surface warming in the Sahara, deepening of the Saharan Heat Low, strengthening of the monsoonal flow across North Africa, and increased rainfall in the region. However, the change in vegetation type resulted in opposite effects in the Asian and Australian monsoon regions during the LIG and MH periods. The Asian monsoon area reduces by 1.8% during the LIG and expands by 0.2% during the MH, while the Australian monsoon area reduces by 1.7% during the LIG and expands by 1.0% during the MH. These findings highlight that vegetation feedback has different impacts on the global monsoon during the LIG and MH periods. Overall, this study sheds light on the importance of vegetation feedback in shaping the global monsoon during critical periods in Earth's history.