Auel - Frozen Forests May 2026

: Large mammals (megafauna) actually reached higher numbers during colder stadial climates, likely because the shift from dense forest to open steppe provided more grazing material.

: Research indicates that from roughly 60,000 to 48,000 years ago , the landscape was dominated by a boreal forest featuring cold-temperate wood taxa and steppe components. AUEL - Frozen Forests

: As the climate cooled toward the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) , the landscape underwent a "stepwise" change from these dense forests toward a "glacial desert" after 26,000 years ago. : Large mammals (megafauna) actually reached higher numbers