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Cretaceous forest composition and productivity inferred from a global fossil wood database

2012; Geological Society of America; Volume: 40; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1130/g32733.1

1943-2682

Emiliano Peralta-Medina, Howard J. Falcon‐Lang,

Geological and Geochemical Analysis

Research Article| March 01, 2012 Cretaceous forest composition and productivity inferred from a global fossil wood database Emiliano Peralta-Medina; Emiliano Peralta-Medina Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Howard J. Falcon-Lang Howard J. Falcon-Lang Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Emiliano Peralta-Medina Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK Howard J. Falcon-Lang Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 10 Aug 2011 Revision Received: 29 Sep 2011 Accepted: 02 Oct 2011 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2012 Geological Society of America Geology (2012) 40 (3): 219–222. https://doi.org/10.1130/G32733.1 Article history Received: 10 Aug 2011 Revision Received: 29 Sep 2011 Accepted: 02 Oct 2011 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Emiliano Peralta-Medina, Howard J. Falcon-Lang; Cretaceous forest composition and productivity inferred from a global fossil wood database. Geology 2012;; 40 (3): 219–222. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G32733.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Global patterns of Cretaceous forest composition and productivity are analyzed using a comprehensive fossil wood database (n = 2238). To ascertain forest composition, records were classified by botanical affinity, plotted on georeferenced paleomaps, and analyzed with ArcGIS tools. Results confirm previous conjecture that araucarioid and podocarpoid conifers were globally codominant in Early Cretaceous time, especially in humid tropical and paratropical biomes, but drastically reduced in numbers and range during the Late Cretaceous. Cupressoid conifers, which were most common in seasonally dry mid-latitudes, and pinoid conifers, which were associated with temperate conditions at higher northern latitudes, also declined at the same time, though less markedly. Spatial analysis suggests that the loss of conifer forests (especially araucarioids) was linked to the rise of co-occurring angiosperms. Our data also show that while angiosperms explosively diversified in mid-Cretaceous time, they did not become forest dominants until the latest Cretaceous (25 m.y. later), by which time the modern relictual pattern of conifer distribution had been established. To ascertain forest productivity, mean tree-ring width data were obtained from direct measurements and literature reviews (n = 284) and plotted by paleolatitude. Comparison with modern data shows that Cretaceous forest productivity was significantly elevated (×2) in mid- and high paleolatitudes, implying a poleward displacement of the temperate zone by >15°. Our data provide quantitative verification of Cretaceous climate-vegetation models and improve the understanding of the long-term effects of future global warming. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.