Eocene–early Oligocene climate and vegetation change in southern China: Evidence from the Maoming Basin

Although the Eocene-Oligocene climate transition marks a critical point in the development of the ‘icehouse’ global climate of the present little is known about this important change in the terrestrial realm at low latitudes. Our palynological study of the Shangcun Formation shows it to be early Oligocene in age: palyno-assemblages in the lower part of the formation indicate a cool interval dominated by conifer pollen in the earliest Oligocene followed by a warmer regime in the second half of the early Oligocene. To quantify middle Eocene to late early Oligocene climate conditions at low (~ 20°N) palaeolatitudes in southern Asia several thousand leaf fossil specimens from the Maoming Basin, southern China, were subjected to a multivariate (CLAMP) analysis of leaf form. For terrestrial palaeoclimate comparisons to be valid the palaeoaltitude at which the proxy data are obtained must be known. We find that leaves preserved in the Youganwo (middle Eocene), Huangniuling (late Eocene) and Shangcun (early Oligocene) formations were likely to have been deposited well above sea level at different palaeoelevations. In the Youganwo Formation fine-grained sediments were deposited at an altitude of ~ 1.5 km, after which the basin dropped to ~ 0.5 km by the time the upper Huangniuling sediments were deposited. The basin floor then rose again by 0.5 km reaching an altitude of approximately 1 km in which the Shangcun Formation fine-grained sediments were accumulated. Within the context of these elevation changes the prevailing climates experienced by the Youganwo, Lower Huangniuling, Upper Huangniuling and Shangcun fossil floras were humid subtropical with hot summers and warm winters, but witnessed a progressive increase in rainfall seasonality. By the early Oligocene rainfall seasonality was similar to that of the modern monsoonal climate of Guangdong Province, southern China. All floras show leaf physiognomic spectra most similar to those growing under the influence of the modern Indonesia-Australia Monsoon, but with no evidence of any adaptation to today's South or East Asia Monsoon regimes. The Upper Huangniuling Flora, rich in dipterocarp plant megafossils, grew in the warmest conditions with the highest cold month mean temperature and at the lowest altitude

Sun and shade leaf variability in <i>Liquidambar chinensis</i> and <i>Liquidambar formosana</i> (Altingiaceae): implications for palaeobotany

Many factors influence leaf anatomy and morphology in the crown of a tree, particularly those resulting from microclimatic differences between the periphery and the interior of the crown. These influences can be so strong that single species can produce different leaf forms in which shade and sun leaves exhibit consistently distinctive morphological and epidermal character sets. Here we show, using Liquidambar as a model system, that the principal morphological characters for distinguishing shade and sun leaves in two modern Liquidambar spp. with different lamina types (entire in L. chinensis and lobate in L. formosana) are the leaf lamina length to width ratio, the degree of development of venation networks, tooth size and tooth shape. The main epidermal characters are ordinary cell size and anticlinal wall outlines. Many fossils, however, are only preserved as impressions and morphological characters alone have been used to distinguish shade and sun leaf morphotypes. To evaluate the utility of our approach, populations of fossil Liquidambar leaves from the Eocene of southern China, preserved only as impressions, were categorized into sun and shade morphotypes. Recognition that sun and shade leaf morphological diversity exists in fossil populations will enable palaeobotanists to identify more reliably foliar polymorphisms that would otherwise be used to describe, incorrectly, different species

Cool tropics in the Middle Eocene: Evidence from the Changchang Flora, Hainan Island, China

The middle Eocene (Lutetian-Bartonian, 48.6-37.2 Ma) near-equatorial megafossil flora from swamp and lacustrine fades of the lower Changchang Formation, Hainan Island, South China (19.631463 degrees N, 110.445049 degrees E) is highly diverse (>200 taxa) dominated by an unusual mixture of angiosperms typical of modern temperate, subtropical and tropical evergreen and deciduous forms. It is also rich in palms. Multivariate analysis of the architecture of minimally transported woody dicot leaves reveals a mean annual air temperature (MAT) of similar to 22 +/- 4.7 degrees C with a marked thermal seasonality range of similar to 21 degrees C. The year-round humid climate lacked any monsoonal signature. The overall climate signal is compatible with the growth characteristics exhibited by fossil wood, but is warmer than the climate signal derived from pollen and spores using Co-existence Analysis. Corrections for possible palaeoelevation of the basin bring the megafossil-derived MAT estimate in line with 54-52 Ma sea surface and soil temperatures obtained from the Gulf Coast, USA, (palaeolatitude similar to 30 degrees N) using multiple geochemical proxies and supports the claim that the low latitude Eocene climate was not uniformly warm. This challenges previous conclusions based on partial derivative O-18 analysis of unaltered calcareous microfossils. Our air temperature data also adds to the challenge of understanding heat transport away from the equator to higher latitudes during 'hot-house' climate regimes. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All eights reserved

Variations in morphological and epidermal features of shade and sun leaves of two species: <i>Quercus bambusifolia</i> and <i>Q. myrsinifolia</i>

Premise: Microclimatic differences between the periphery and the interior of tree crowns result in a variety of adaptive leaf macromorphological and anatomical features. Our research was designed to reveal criteria for sun/shade leaf identification in two species of evergreen oaks, applicable to both modern and fossil leaves. We compared our results with those in other species similarly studied. Methods: For both Quercus bambusifolia and Q. myrsinifolia (section Cyclobalanopsis), leaves from single mature trees with well-developed crowns were collected in the South China Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, China. We focus on leaf characters often preserved in fossil material. SVGm software was used for macromorphological measurement. Quantitative analyses were performed and box plots generated using R software with IDE Rstudio. Leaf cuticles were prepared using traditional botanical techniques. Results: Principal characters for distinguishing shade and sun leaves in the studied oaks were identified as leaf lamina length to width ratio (L/W), and the degree of development of venation networks. For Q. myrsinifolia, shade and sun leaves differ in tooth morphology and the ratio of toothed lamina length to overall lamina length. The main epidermal characters are ordinary cell size and anticlinal wall outlines. For both species, plasticity within shade leaves exceeds that of sun leaves. Conclusions: Morphological responses to sun and shade in the examined oaks are similar to those in other plant genera, pointing to useful generalizations for recognizing common foliar polymorphisms that must be taken into account when determining the taxonomic position of both modern and fossil plants

Eocene-early Oligocene climate and vegetation change in southern China: Evidence from the Maoming Basin

Although the Eocene-Oligocene climate transition marks a critical point in the development of the 'icehouse' global climate of the present little is known about this important change in the terrestrial realm at low latitudes. Our palynological study of the Shangcun Formation shows it to be early Oligocene in age: palyno-assemblages in the lower part of the formation indicate a cool interval dominated by conifer pollen in the earliest Oligocene followed by a warmer regime in the second half of the early Oligocene. To quantify middle Eocene to late early Oligocene climate conditions at low (similar to 20 degrees N) palaeolatitudes in southern Asia several thousand leaf fossil specimens from the Maoming Basin, southern China, were subjected to a multivariate (CLAMP) analysis of leaf form. For terrestrial palaeoclimate comparisons to be valid the palaeoaltitude at which the proxy data are obtained must be known. We find that leaves preserved in the Youganwo (middle Eocene), Huangniuling (late Eocene) and Shangcun (early Oligocene) formations were likely to have been deposited well above sea level at different palaeoelevations. In the Youganwo Formation fine-grained sediments were deposited at an altitude of similar to 1.5 km, after which the basin dropped to similar to 0.5 km by the time the upper Huangniuling sediments were deposited. The basin floor then rose again by 0.5 km reaching an altitude of approximately 1 km in which the Shangcun Formation fine-grained sediments were accumulated. Within the context of these elevation changes the prevailing climates experienced by the Youganwo, Lower Huangniuling, Upper Huangniuling and Shangcun fossil floras were humid subtropical with hot summers and warm winters, but witnessed a progressive increase in rainfall seasonality. By the early Oligocene rainfall seasonality was similar to that of the modern monsoonal climate of Guangdong Province, southern China. All floras show leaf physiognomic spectra most similar to those growing under the influence of the modern Indonesia-Australia Monsoon, but with no evidence of any adaptation to today's South or East Asia Monsoon regimes. The Upper Huangniuling Flora, rich in dipterocarp plant megafossils, grew in the warmest conditions with the highest cold month mean temperature and at the lowest altitude. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved