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Are Mesozoic wood growth rings climate-induced?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2016

Anne-Lise Brison ,
Marc Philippe  and
Frédéric Thevenard
Anne-Lise Brison
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Paléobotanique de l'Université Lyon-1, 7 rue Dubois, F69622 Villeurbanne cedex, France
Marc Philippe*
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Paléobotanique de l'Université Lyon-1 and FRE2158 du CNRS, 401A, 7 rue Dubois, F69622 Villeurbanne cedex, France. E-mail: [email protected]
Frédéric Thevenard
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Paléobotanique de l'Université Lyon-1 and FRE2158 du CNRS, 401A, 7 rue Dubois, F69622 Villeurbanne cedex, France. E-mail: [email protected]
*
*Corresponding author
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Abstract

Growth rings of Mesozoic fossil woods have often been used for paleoclimatological inferences. Most of the studies, however, rest upon uniformitarian deductions based on the observation of conifers from the present boreal temperate realm, whereas warm climates dominated during the Mesozoic. We propose a new approach, based on the study of the distribution of growth ring types among 643 samples from the Jurassic-Cretaceous interval. A clear picture emerges from analysis, consistent with what is known of Mesozoic climates from other sources. Woods with no rings are encountered in a wide latitudinal zone, extending up to 75°N and 65°S during the Late Cretaceous. Woods with well-developed latewood do not occur at low latitude and disappeared from the Northern Hemisphere during the Late Cretaceous. Our data set also shows that the taxonomic distribution of growth ring types is not regular. Among the genera encountered, 40% can build only one type of ring. The genus Agathoxylon never displays thick latewood, although it ranges from 75°S to 70°N. This demonstrates that growth ring studies must include a taxonomic analysis.

Type
Articles
Information
Paleobiology , Volume 27 , Issue 3 , Summer 2001 , pp. 531 - 538
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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