Severe late Miocene droughts affected western Eurasia

Butiseaca, Geanina; Vasiliev, Iuliana; Meer, Marcel T. J. van der; Krijgsman, Wout; Palcu, Dan V.; Feurdean, Angelica; Niedermeyer, Eva M; Mulch, Andreas

doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2021.103644

Cited by 11 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…During this period (Hora Formation, Units 1-3), alkaline and saline water gave rise to evaporite precipitation and dolomitisation processes in the marginal environments of the lake. Similar features occurred coevally in the South Saros Gulf (Sakınç et al, 1999) and in the Denizli Basin (Alçiçek et al, 2007;Figure 15), which can be related to dryer conditions and by increasing seasonality (Owen et al, 2011), with increasing summer droughts throughout Paratethys and the circum-Paratethys region (Butiseacă et al, 2021). Such severe droughts led to partial desiccation of the Paratethys megalake, between 9.75 Ma and 9.6 Ma and between 9.5 Ma and 9.3 Ma (Butiseacă et al, 2021;Palcu et al, 2021;Figure 15).…”

Section: Middle Tortonianmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…Similar features occurred coevally in the South Saros Gulf (Sakınç et al, 1999) and in the Denizli Basin (Alçiçek et al, 2007;Figure 15), which can be related to dryer conditions and by increasing seasonality (Owen et al, 2011), with increasing summer droughts throughout Paratethys and the circum-Paratethys region (Butiseacă et al, 2021). Such severe droughts led to partial desiccation of the Paratethys megalake, between 9.75 Ma and 9.6 Ma and between 9.5 Ma and 9.3 Ma (Butiseacă et al, 2021;Palcu et al, 2021;Figure 15). This deterioration in climate is accompanied by a progressive rise in the prevalence of grassy environments in the Eastern Mediterranean zone (Ioakim et al, 2005) that may have enhanced the production of terrestrial dissolved silica during the late Miocene, favouring the important development of diatoms in Samos lake (Pellegrino et al, 2018).…”

Section: Middle Tortonianmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…Due to their key position at the transition between two geodynamic blocks (East Aegean and Anatolian), the Samos basins are of particular interest when attempting a reconstruction of the long-debated regional geodynamics and palaeogeography (Brun et al, 2016;Jolivet et al, 1994;Le Pichon & Angelier, 1981;Taymaz et al, 2007;among many others). Additionally, these series were deposited during a period of important climate perturbations (Butiseacă et al, 2021;Eronen et al, 2009;Palcu et al, 2019) and a major environmental crisis, the socalled Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC; Flecker et al, 2015;Roveri et al, 2014). Depending on the palaeogeographical location (Mediterranean Sea vs. Paratethys and circum-Paratethys), these climate perturbations are not synchronous and do not have the same expression.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reconstruction of the Late Miocene to Pliocene continental succession of Samos Island: Palaeoenvironmental implications for the Eastern Aegean domain

Hamon,

Deschamps,

Gorini

et al. 2023

The Depositional Record

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On the Island of Samos (East Aegean region, Greece), two sedimentary basins are filled by thick continental series dated to the Late Miocene to Early Pliocene. A multi‐disciplinary study has been performed including 1) the definition of 21 sedimentary facies, 2) a review of the biological components and 3) carbon, oxygen and strontium stable isotope analyses. The succession is characterised by various depositional settings and hydrochemical compositions. Five main stages of basin evolution have been identified: 1) The Late Serravalian is marked by the development of alluvial fans and fan delta; 2) during the Lower Tortonian, isolated shallow lakes with variable salinity, from fresh to brackish, developed under warm and relatively humid conditions; 3) the Middle to Upper Tortonian is marked by the development of a large and deep lake with saline and alkaline waters, under colder and drier conditions; 4) the Latest Tortonian to Messinian period is represented by an ephemeral alluvial system, developed under a dry climate; 5) during the Zanclean, a palustrine and paludal wetland system, dominated by tufa carbonates, developed under moderately humid conditions. This succession is of particular interest for the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironmental evolution of the transition zone between the Mediterranean domain, and the Paratethys and circum‐Paratethys areas. The geochemical data and the presence of flora (diatoms) and fauna (gastropods) of marine affinity suggest transient ingressions of marine‐related water or groundwater inflows as early as the Lower Tortonian. The Samos succession records the complex interaction between the regional geodynamics and climate. The extensional regime of the Eastern Aegean zone generates subsidence, interrupted in the mid‐Tortonian (9 Ma) by a brief compressive event and a major exposure of the basins. Furthermore, the Late Miocene progressive aridification, followed by a change to a more humid climate (Pliocene) is also a major driver of the sedimentation.

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Section: Middle Tortonianmentioning

confidence: 76%

Section: Middle Tortonianmentioning

confidence: 76%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reconstruction of the Late Miocene to Pliocene continental succession of Samos Island: Palaeoenvironmental implications for the Eastern Aegean domain

Hamon,

Deschamps,

Gorini

et al. 2023

The Depositional Record

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“…The diverse evergreen flora, elements of which persist today in eastern Asia and eastern North America (Baskin & Baskin, 2016), disappeared from western Eurasia in the late Miocene and Pliocene (Kvaček et al ., 2009; Kvaček, Teodoridis & Denk, 2020). The demise of evergreen floras in western Eurasia in the late Miocene is coincident with increased seasonality, several mega‐drought events and persistent fire that continued into the Pliocene (Fortelius et al ., 2014; Feurdean & Vasiliev, 2019; Butiseacă et al ., 2021). Fire and drought are a lethal combination to evergreen taxa (Brando et al ., 2014) and crown fire is particularly destructive even for trees bearing traits adaptive to a surface fire regime (Stephens et al ., 2018).…”

Section: Temperate Broadleaved Forest Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If, as we propose here, Eurasian broadleaved temperate forest has the same ecological and evolutionary history as the forest‐steppe, then there is no reason, apart from structural differences, to consider them separate. Fire and drought have been key historical drivers shaping the development of the forest‐steppe (Feurdean et al ., 2015; Feurdean & Vasiliev, 2019; Butiseacă et al ., 2021). Compared with herbaceous growth forms, the woody component is impoverished (Klimešová et al ., 2017; Loidi et al ., 2021), evidence of antiquity and diversification in the former and strong environmental filtering in the latter.…”

Section: Temperate Broadleaved Forest Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

Solutions to fire and shade: resprouting, growing tall and the origin of Eurasian temperate broadleaved forest

Adie

Lawes

2022

Biological Reviews

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Tree species of Eurasian broadleaved forest possess two divergent trait syndromes with contrasting patterns of resource allocation adapted to different selection environments: short‐stature basal resprouters that divert resources to a bud bank adapted to frequent and severe disturbances such as fire and herbivory, and tall trees that delay reproduction by investing in rapid height growth to escape shading. Drawing on theory developed in savanna ecosystems, we propose a conceptual framework showing that the possession of contrasting trait syndromes is essential for the persistence of broadleaved trees in an open ecosystem that burns. Consistent with this hypothesis, trees of modern Eurasian broadleaved forest bear a suite of traits that are adaptive to surface and crown‐fire regimes. We contend that limited opportunities in grassland restricts recruitment to disturbance‐free refugia, and en masse establishment creates a wooded environment where shade limits the growth of light‐demanding savanna plants. Rapid height growth, which involves investment in structural support and the switch from a multi‐stemmed to a monopodial growth form, is adaptive in this shaded environment. Although clustering reduces surface fuel loads, these establishment nuclei are vulnerable to high‐intensity crown fires. The lethal effects of canopy fire are avoided by seasonal leaf shedding, and aerial resprouting enhances rapid post‐fire recovery of photosynthetic capacity. While these woody formations satisfy the structural definition of forest, their constituents are clearly derived from savanna. Contrasting trait syndromes thus represent the shift from consumer to resource regulation in savanna ecosystems. Consistent with global trends, the diversification of most contemporary broadleaved taxa coincided with the spread of grasslands, a surge in fire activity and a decline in wooded ecosystems in the late Miocene–Pliocene. Recognition that Eurasian broadleaved forest has savanna origins and persists as an alternative state with adjacent grassy ecosystems has far‐reaching management implications in accordance with functional rather than structural criteria. Shade is a severe constraint to the regeneration and growth of both woody and herbaceous growth forms in consumer‐regulated ecosystems. However, these ecosystems are highly resilient to disturbance, an essential process that maintains diversity especially among the species‐rich herbaceous component that is vulnerable to shading when consumer behaviour is altered.

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New evidence for the unique coexistence of two subfamilies of clawed perissodactyls (Mammalia, Chalicotheriidae) in the Upper Miocene of Romania and the Eastern Mediterranean

Kampouridis

Rățoi

Ursachi³

2023

J Mammal Evol

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Chalicotheres are a peculiar group of large herbivorous mammals, closely related to extant tapirs, rhinoceroses, and horses, but with large claws instead of hooves. The family Chalicotheriidae consists of two subfamilies, the Schizotheriinae and the Chalicotheriinae. Herein we present chalicothere remains from the Upper Miocene locality of Pogana 1 in Romania, identifying the schizotheriine Ancylotherium pentelicum and an indeterminate chalicotheriine that were both found in the same stratigraphic layer. Thus, the Pogana 1 locality represents one of the very few confirmed cases of the co-occurrence of the two subfamilies within one fossiliferous horizon in the same fossil site. A detailed review of all localities where the two subfamilies have been reported to co-occur shows that this is a rare phenomenon that is almost exclusively observed in the Turolian of the Balkan-Iranian zoogeographical province. This is probably due to provincial differences in the palaeoenvironment. The data presented here support the hypothesis of a diverse mosaic environment in the Balkan-Iranian province with both closed environments and open habitats that was able to sustain a rich and diverse large mammal fauna.

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Severe late Miocene droughts affected western Eurasia

Cited by 11 publications

References 57 publications

Reconstruction of the Late Miocene to Pliocene continental succession of Samos Island: Palaeoenvironmental implications for the Eastern Aegean domain

Reconstruction of the Late Miocene to Pliocene continental succession of Samos Island: Palaeoenvironmental implications for the Eastern Aegean domain

Solutions to fire and shade: resprouting, growing tall and the origin of Eurasian temperate broadleaved forest

New evidence for the unique coexistence of two subfamilies of clawed perissodactyls (Mammalia, Chalicotheriidae) in the Upper Miocene of Romania and the Eastern Mediterranean

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