Horses Grazed On Grass Year-Round In A Birch-Forested Siberian Arctic Until 2200 Years Ago
By Kenneth Richard on 24. March 2022
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From about 14,000 to 12,000 years ago, when CO2 hovered around a “safe” ~240 ppm, Siberian Arctic July temperatures reached ~8 to 12°C, which is at least 4°C warmer than today (Andreev et al., 2008).
Grass grew 300-350 days a year in the late stages of the last glacial in the Siberian Arctic. This allowed horses, antelopes, and other large grazers (mammoths) to continuously reside at these high latitudes.
Horses continued grazing on Arctic grass year-round until as recently as 2,200 years ago. Today these regions have tundra climates. Grazers can no longer survive in the modern colder-than-the-last-late-glacial conditions.
The Siberian Arctic also had extensive birch forests 14,000 to 12,000 years ago. Birch trees were still growing in this region as late as ~3,700 years ago. Today these same regions are too cold for birch trees to grow.
https://notrickszone.com/2022/03/24/horses-grazed-on-grass-year-round-in-a-birch-forested-siberian-arctic-until-2200-years-ago/
