Survival and long-term maintenance of tertiary trees in the Iberian Peninsula during the Pleistocene. First record of Aesculus L.

The Italian and Balkan peninsulas have been places traditionally highlighted as Pleistocene glacial refuges. The Iberian Peninsula, however, has been a focus of controversy between geobotanists and palaeobotanists as a result of its exclusion from this category on different occasions. In the current paper, we synthesise geological, molecular, palaeobotanical and geobotanical data that show the importance of the Iberian Peninsula in the Western Mediterranean as a refugium area. The presence of Aesculus aff. hippocastanum L. at the Iberian site at Cal Guardiola (Tarrasa, Barcelona, NE Spain) in the Lower– Middle Pleistocene transition helps to consolidate the remarkable role of the Iberian Peninsula in the survival of tertiary species during the Pleistocene. The palaeodistribution of the genus in Europe highlights a model of area abandonment for a widely-distributed species in the Miocene and Pliocene, leading to a diminished and fragmentary presence in the Pleistocene and Holocene on the southern Mediterranean peninsulas. Aesculus fossils are not uncommon within the series of Tertiary taxa. Many appear in the Pliocene and suffer a radical impoverishment in the Lower–Middle Pleistocene transition. Nonetheless some of these tertiary taxa persisted throughout the Pleistocene and Holocene up to the present in the Iberian Peninsula. Locating these refuge areas on the Peninsula is not an easy task, although areas characterised by a sustained level of humidity must have played an predominant role

Palaeoxylotomical studies in the Cenozoic petrified forests of Greece. Part one-palms

The paper reports a palaeoxylotomical study of petrified palm remains (stem, root, rachis) collected from some fossil sites of Greece (Evros, Lemnos, Lesbos and Kastoria) aged to the late Oligocene to early Miocene. Five species of Palmoxylon were identified: P. daemonoropsoides (Unger) Kirchheimer, corr., P. chamaeropsoides Iamandei et Iamandei, sp. nov., P. coryphoides Ambwani et Mehrotra, P. sabaloides Greguss, P. trachycarpoides Iamandei et Iamandei, sp. nov. and P. phoenicoides Hofmann. Also found were two species of Rhizopalmoxylon (R. daemonoropsoides Iamandei et Iamandei, sp. nov., R. phoenicoides Iamandei et Iamandei, sp. nov.) and Palmocaulon sp. aff. Phoenix L. These new identifications add new elements to the forest assemblages of the Oligocene-Miocene Greek flora, useful for understanding the evolution of the Cenozoic palaeoclimate in the Aegean area. © 2019 Dimitrios Velitzelos et al., published by Sciendo

PALAEOXYLOTOMICAL STUDIES in the CENOZOIC PETRIFIED FORESTS of GREECE. PART TWO – CONIFERS

This paper reports the palaeoxylotomical study of petrified conifer remains from Velitzelos collection, originating from some fossiliferous sites of Greece, especially from the Aegean area (Evros, Limnos, Lesbos), aged of late Oligocene to early Miocene. Ten species were identified: Cupressinoxylon akdikii, Juniperoxylon acarcae, Tetraclinoxylon velitzelosii, Taxodioxylon gypsaceum, Taxodioxylon taxodii, Glyptostroboxylon rudolphii, Glyptostroboxylon tenerum, Pinuxylon pineoides, Pinuxylon halepensoides and Pinuxylon sp. aff. Pinus canariensis. These new identifications add new elements to the forest assemblages of the Oligocene - Miocene Greek flora, useful for understanding the evolution of the Cenozoic palaeovegetation and palaeoclimate in the Aegean area. © 2021 The authors. All right reserved

Messinian vegetation and climate of the intermontane Florina–Ptolemais–Servia Basin, NW Greece inferred from palaeobotanical data: How well do plant fossils reflect past environments?

The late Miocene is marked by pronounced environmental changes and the appearance of strong temperature and precipitation seasonality. Although environmental heterogeneity is to be expected during this time, it is challenging to reconstruct palaeoenvironments using plant fossils. We investigated leaves and dispersed spores/pollen from 6.4 to 6 Ma strata in the intermontane Florina–Ptolemais–Servia Basin (FPS) of northwestern Greece. To assess how well plant fossils reflect the actual vegetation of the FPS, we assigned fossil taxa to biomes providing a measure for environmental heterogeneity. Additionally, the palynological assemblage was compared with pollen spectra from modern lake sediments to assess biases in spore/pollen representation in the pollen record. We found a close match of the Vegora assemblage with modern Fagus–Abies forests of Turkey. Using taxonomic affinities of leaf fossils, we further established close similarities of the Vegora assemblage with modern laurophyllous oak forests of Afghanistan. Finally, using information from sedimentary environment and taphonomy, we distinguished local and distantly growing vegetation types.We then subjected the plant assemblage of Vegora to different methods of climate reconstruction and discussed their potentials and limitations. Leaf and spore/pollen records allow accurate reconstructions of palaeoenvironments in the FPS, whereas extra-regional vegetation from coastal lowlands is probably not captured. © 2020 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited

Review of the Cenozoic floras and vegetation of Greece

Oligocene to Pleistocene floras of Greece are reviewed based on published and unpublished material. Oldest plant-bearing sediments of Rupelian-Chattian age are exposed in eastern Thrace (Evros) and were deposited after the closure of the Turgai Seaway. They contain a blend of (i) taxa that migrated to western Eurasia from the East (Alnus, Fagus), (ii) characteristic Oligocene taxa (Nyssa altenburgensis, Ampelopsis hibschii), and (iii) extinct (Eotrigonobalanus, Quasisequoia) and modern genera (Calocedrus, Quercus Group Lobatae) from older epochs. Coastal palm swamps and laurel forests of the hinterland indicate a subtropical, fully humid to winter-dry climate (Cfa, Cwa according to Köppen). The Aquitanian-Burdigalian plant assemblage of Lesbos is intermediary between Evros and the Burdigalian floras of Euboea sharing taxa with Evros (palms), and with Euboea and early Miocene floras of Anatolia (Güvem, Tilia). In the early Miocene (Burdigalian) floras of Euboea, species of Quercus Group Ilex (Quercus drymeja, Quercus mediterranea) characteristic of fully humid or winter-dry (monsoon) climates (Cf, Cw) became dominant elements in well-drained forests. Floristic links are with late Oligocene to middle Miocene floras of Central Asia (Tilia), Asia Minor (cycads, Quercus Group Ilex, Tilia), and South and Central Europe (cycads, Quercus Group Ilex, palms). Middle Miocene floras are restricted to the Aegean Islands (Chios). Biogeographic links are with early to late Miocene floras of Central Europe (Parrotia, Podocarpium) and with middle Miocene floras of Anatolia (Parrotia). Upper Miocene plant-bearing sedimentary formations are most abundant in Greece and exposed on the Ionian Islands, Greece mainland to East Macedonia, Peloponnese, Aegean Islands, and Crete. Overall, the fossil plant assemblages from Greece mainland are indicative of fully humid conditions during this time (Cfa), with Fagus and oaks of Quercus Group Ilex being dominant elements. Seasonality may have been more pronounced on the Peloponnese and the Aegaean Islands and Crete, expressed by the rare occurrence of Fagus in the fossil records of these areas. The palaeobotanical records from Samos unambiguously point to the presence of forest vegetation during early Tortonian to Messinian (Cwa) when the famous vertebrate faunas of Samos were deposited. The Pliocene is characterized by the regional occurrence of modern types of deciduous oaks mainly of Quercus Group Cerris and Quercus subsect. Galliferae. East Asian links persist in Fagus, Quercus, and Cupressaceae, North American ones in Sabal; several other mesophytic taxa from previous periods are recorded as well. The modern sclerophyllous Mediterranean vegetation, thriving in a warm summer dry climate (Csa), cannot be traced prior to the Pleistocene based on the palaeobotanical record. © 2014 Elsevier B.V