Abstract

The fossil flora from brackish late Burdigalian (Ottnangian) sediments in Brno-Líšeň (the Czech Republic) contributes to our knowledge of floristic evolution and palaeoclimatic changes in the Western Carpathians. The fossil material investigated for this study comprises fragmentary leaf imprints, few fruits/seeds, and dispersed pollen from a single palynomorph-rich sample. Macro remains include 3 ferns (Osmunda parschlugiana, Salvinia reussii, ?Polypodiaceae gen. et sp. indet.) and 17 angiosperms (e.g., Daphnogene polymorpha, “Parrotia” pristina, Leguminophyllum spp., Podocarpium podocarpum, cf. Engelhardia orsbergensis, Ulmus sp., Schoenoplectiella cf. ragozinii). The palynospectrum comprises 106 taxa, including abundant palaeotropical elements of zonal evergreen forest, i.e., Sapotaceae, Palmae, Engelhardia, Platycarya, Fagaceae, Araliaceae and Cornus-Mastixia, accompanied by arctotertiary elements of deciduous zonal forest (Quercus, Carpinus, Fagus, Carya, Juglans, Tilia, Betula, Parrotia) and deciduous azonal (riparian) forest (e.g., Alnus, Salix, Ulmus). Aquatic plants, algae (Prasinophyceae, Botryococcus) and marine dinoflagellates indicate a marine environment with freshwater impact. Plant taxa possibly representing open areas such as Olea, Celtis, Buxus, Ephedra, Rosaceae and Poaceae are sporadic, as well as conifers of extrazonal forest such as Cedrus, Tsuga, Picea. The studied palynospectrum contains abundant thermophilic elements and does not point to a cooling event, as reported by previous authors from the Polish part of the Carpathian Foredeep.

Key words

fossil flora, leaves, fruits, pollen, palaeoenvironment, Early Miocene, Carpathian Foredeep, Paratethys

Abstract

The late Early Pleistocene was the last time of equable climate in northern Central Italy, reflected in its large mammal fauna and numerous palynological records. Reliably dated leaf fossils from this time are rare, but provide crucial information on local and regional vegetation, biogeographic relationships, and species turnover coinciding with the assembly of modern forest biomes. Here we investigated a rich assemblage of leaf and fruit impressions (63 fossil-taxa) from the Oriolo quarry, Faenza (Ravenna), dated to the latest Calabrian, preserved in transgressive coastal deposits. The fossil assemblage represents riparian vegetation and xeric alluvial habitats in the lowlands and forest vegetation above the alluvial plain. Forest-building trees were deciduous, but comprised several taxa characteristic of open scrubland or forest edges. The composition of the flora reflects a dynamic process of assembling modern forest biomes in western Eurasia. While most taxa correspond to modern submediterranean and temperate woody species, some others represent late occurrences of taxa today confined to refugia outside Italy (Parrotia, Gleditsia, Pterocarya), and a few are Miocene/Pliocene relics indicating final floristic links with East Asia (Japan) and/or North America (Tsuga cf. chiarugii, Carya cf. minor) and Pleistocene endemism in Italy (Berberis auriolensis, Acer aemilianum).

Key words

Angiosperms, leaves, fruits, Early to Middle Pleistocene, Italy, Integrated Plant Record (IPR) vegetation analysis, statistical tool Drudge 1, Pleistocene relict taxa

Abstract

The late Early/early Middle Miocene flora from Parschlug (Styria, Austria) is famous for its numerous specimens and high diversity. Some taxa previously described are revised here and 42 new angiosperm leaf morphotypes/taxa are described. The Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program (CLAMP) is applied to assess the palaeoclimate. An update of the tool to assess the most suitable modern climate CLAMP calibration dataset is introduced. The Integrated Plant Record (IPR) vegetation analysis, assessing the most likely major vegetation type represented by a fossil flora, and similarity approaches Drudges 1 and 2, indicating the most similar modern vegetation proxies, had been previously applied to data from Parschlug. Both are again applied here on the enlarged floristic spectrum. The results indicate “sclerophyllous subhumid forest” as the most likely major zonal vegetation type for Parschlug and European vegetation, namely “Thermophilous mixed deciduous broadleaved forests”, distributed today in southern and southeastern Europe, as the most similar modern vegetation. The climate for Parschlug, inferred from CLAMP and the climate in the region of the modern vegetation proxies, indicates distinct seasonality in precipitation and temperature.

Key words

leaf flora, CLAMP, IPR vegetation analysis, Drudges, modern vegetation and palaeoclimate proxies, Neogene, Austria

Abstract

A recently recovered site of plant macrofossils, Ludvíkovice, in the České středohoří Mts. is situated on Sokolí vrch hill, belonging to the Děčín Formation (radiometrically dated to 30.8–24.7 Ma), according to regional stratigraphy. The flora has yielded a fern, Rumohra recentior, and several angiosperms, but no conifers. The prevailing foliage is preserved without cuticles. Noteworthy are records of Daphnogene cinnamomifolia, Laurophyllum cf. acutimontanum, Platanus neptuni, Sloanea artocarpites, Carya fragiliformis / C. quadrangula, Alnus rhenana, Trigonobalanopsis rhamnoides, Eotrigonobalanus furcinervis and cf. Quercus sp. Several foliage specimens of dicots could not be identified to species level, i.e., Leguminophyllum sp., Pungiphyllum cf. cruciatum and Dicotylophyllum sp. div. The fossil plant assemblage of Ludvíkovice corresponds to zonal mesophytic vegetation accompanied by riparian elements. This is corroborated by the Integrated Plant Record vegetation analysis, which reconstructs a zonal broad-leaved evergreen forest similar to the living broad-leaved evergreen sclerophyllous forest from Southern Hunan and Northern Guangxi in SE China. The vegetation thrived under a humid climate characterized by average values of MAT (14.6–24.1 °C), WMMT (24.7–28.3 °C), CMMT (2.2–18.8 °C) and MAP (979–1724 mm). The fossil flora of Ludvíkovice is similar in composition to the floras of Markvartice, Veselíčko, also from the Oligocene Děčín Formation of the České středohoří Mts. and the Hrazený hill.

Key words

fossil, leaves, fruit, morphology, vegetation, climate, North Bohemia, Palaeogene