Tertiary vegetation of Europe and its dynamics and climatic signal–new approaches in botany of the past

Abstract

Using new methodologies for assessment of vegetation patterns and climatic proxies from the fossil plant record, considerable progress has been made in reconstructing paleoclimatic development at certain time intervals of the Neogene of Europe. Geobotanical mapping has employed new classification of zonal vegetation based on Integrated Plant Record (IPR) and developed a new technology to follow vegetation (and palaeoclimate) dynamics over large areas at a particular time slice. Improved paleoclimatic methodologies of the Co-existence Approach (CA) and the Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program based on dicot leaf physiognomy (CLAMP) produced climatic proxies that provided additional information on the Neogene climate over Europe. The stomatal density studies proved to be another useful tool for palaeoclimatology. New reconstructions of CO2 concentrations based on several Lauraceae and Ginkgo from the mid- Tertiary of Europe showed a positive correlation between higher levels of atmospheric CO2 (pCO2) and warming trends, expressed particularly in the Lower-Middle Miocene (“Miocene Climatic Optimum”).