Fungi a driving force in normalisation of the terrestrial cabon cycle following the end-cretaceous extinction
(2012) p.811-820- Abstract
- Geologists have long recognized the magnitude, abruptness, and the global pattern of
the major biotic turnover across the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary approximately
65.5 million years ago. It was associated with one of the most catastrophic
events in the history of life, involving mass mortality in both terrestrial and marine
ecosystems globally; vast amounts of dead biomass covered the Earth’s surface. Of
prime importance are data from distal boundary sites. These reveal much about the
pattern of extinction, whether overprinted or not by local effects such as cratering
and post-impact tsunamis. There are few instructive Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary
sequences... (More) - Geologists have long recognized the magnitude, abruptness, and the global pattern of
the major biotic turnover across the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary approximately
65.5 million years ago. It was associated with one of the most catastrophic
events in the history of life, involving mass mortality in both terrestrial and marine
ecosystems globally; vast amounts of dead biomass covered the Earth’s surface. Of
prime importance are data from distal boundary sites. These reveal much about the
pattern of extinction, whether overprinted or not by local effects such as cratering
and post-impact tsunamis. There are few instructive Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary
sequences in terrestrial settings. Such sites include the western interior of the
USA, Canada, and New Zealand. The pattern of vegetation turnover in these areas is
characterized by a so-called fern-spike: abrupt and marked increase in relative abundance
of fern spores in palynological assemblages. The latest Cretaceous palynofloras
were a rich and diverse mix of angiosperms and gymnosperms with fern, lycophyte,
and moss spores. In New Zealand, the boundary is characterized by total dominance
of fern spores, notably in undisturbed, fine-grained sediments at the Moody Creek
Mine where turnover from the latest Maastrichtian flora consists of a thin fungal layer followed by a step-wise recovery succession of several ground- and tree-fern taxa. Identification of this ‘fungal-spike’ accords with fungi having played an important role in the devastated terrestrial ecosystems. Fungi may even have facilitated
normalization of the global carbon cycle. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/4281184
- author
- Vajda, Vivi LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2012
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- cretaceous, paleogene, Maastrichtian, New Zealand, Moody Creek, mass mortality, terrestrial, palynology, fungae, Fern-spike, carbon-cycle normalization
- host publication
- Earth and Life
- editor
- Talent, John A.
- pages
- 811 - 820
- publisher
- Springer
- ISBN
- 9789048134281
- 9789048134274
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 1f7f2935-f56a-470b-bce7-ac10c13f3bf3 (old id 4281184)
- alternative location
- http://ludwig.lub.lu.se/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat02271a&AN=atoz.ebs1382533e&site=eds-live&scope=site
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-04 12:16:56
- date last changed
- 2018-11-21 21:10:03
@inbook{1f7f2935-f56a-470b-bce7-ac10c13f3bf3,
abstract = {{Geologists have long recognized the magnitude, abruptness, and the global pattern of<br/><br>
the major biotic turnover across the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary approximately<br/><br>
65.5 million years ago. It was associated with one of the most catastrophic<br/><br>
events in the history of life, involving mass mortality in both terrestrial and marine<br/><br>
ecosystems globally; vast amounts of dead biomass covered the Earth’s surface. Of<br/><br>
prime importance are data from distal boundary sites. These reveal much about the<br/><br>
pattern of extinction, whether overprinted or not by local effects such as cratering<br/><br>
and post-impact tsunamis. There are few instructive Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary<br/><br>
sequences in terrestrial settings. Such sites include the western interior of the<br/><br>
USA, Canada, and New Zealand. The pattern of vegetation turnover in these areas is<br/><br>
characterized by a so-called fern-spike: abrupt and marked increase in relative abundance<br/><br>
of fern spores in palynological assemblages. The latest Cretaceous palynofloras<br/><br>
were a rich and diverse mix of angiosperms and gymnosperms with fern, lycophyte,<br/><br>
and moss spores. In New Zealand, the boundary is characterized by total dominance<br/><br>
of fern spores, notably in undisturbed, fine-grained sediments at the Moody Creek<br/><br>
Mine where turnover from the latest Maastrichtian flora consists of a thin fungal layer followed by a step-wise recovery succession of several ground- and tree-fern taxa. Identification of this ‘fungal-spike’ accords with fungi having played an important role in the devastated terrestrial ecosystems. Fungi may even have facilitated<br/><br>
normalization of the global carbon cycle.}},
author = {{Vajda, Vivi}},
booktitle = {{Earth and Life}},
editor = {{Talent, John A.}},
isbn = {{9789048134281}},
keywords = {{cretaceous; paleogene; Maastrichtian; New Zealand; Moody Creek; mass mortality; terrestrial; palynology; fungae; Fern-spike; carbon-cycle normalization}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{811--820}},
publisher = {{Springer}},
title = {{Fungi a driving force in normalisation of the terrestrial cabon cycle following the end-cretaceous extinction}},
url = {{http://ludwig.lub.lu.se/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat02271a&AN=atoz.ebs1382533e&site=eds-live&scope=site}},
year = {{2012}},
}