Substantial light woodland and open vegetation characterized the temperate forest biome before Homo sapiens
The extent of vegetation openness in the temperate forest biome prior to modern humans is widely debated – particularly in Europe regarding baselines for conservation and restoration. The temperate forest biome was traditionally thought to be dense closed-canopy forest; however, this view has been challenged by arguments that large herbivores could have maintained some degree of openness, or even The extent of vegetation openness in past European landscapes is widely debated. In particular, the temperate forest biome has traditionally been defined as dense, closed-canopy forest; however, some argue that large herbivores maintained greater openness or even wood-pasture conditions. Here, we address this question for the Last Interglacial period (129,000–116,000 years ago), before Homo sapien
