The first evidence of paleo-wildfire from the Campanian (Late Cretaceous) of North Africa

Atfy, Haytham El; Sallam, Hesham; Jasper, André; Uhl, Dieter

doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2015.09.012

Cited by 21 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Elsewhere in the African continent, Afty et al . 24 reported the presence of fire in Egypt 75 Ma. The Cretaceous is regarded as a ‘high-fire’ period in the Earth’s history 25 , with elevated atmospheric oxygen concentrations at this time 26 .…”

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confidence: 99%

“…The Cretaceous is regarded as a ‘high-fire’ period in the Earth’s history 25 , with elevated atmospheric oxygen concentrations at this time 26 . However, Cretaceous fossil records are rare in the Southern Hemisphere 24 , leading some researchers to suggest that fire is a recent phenomenon in the Cape flora 5 7 15 . Our study helps redress the sparse studies on the history of fire in Africa relative to those for the northern hemisphere.…”

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confidence: 99%

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A Cretaceous origin for fire adaptations in the Cape flora

Lamont

Manning

2016

Sci Rep

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Fire has had a profound effect on the evolution of worldwide biotas. The Cape Floristic Region is one of the world’s most species-rich regions, yet it is highly prone to recurrent fires and fire-adapted species contribute strongly to the overall flora. It is hypothesized that the current fire regimes in the Cape could be as old as 6–8 million years (My), while indirect evidence indicates that the onset of fire could have reached 18 million years ago (Ma). Here, we trace the origin of fire-dependent traits in two monocot families that are significant elements in the fire-prone Cape flora. Our analysis shows that fire-stimulated flowering originated in the Cape Haemodoraceae 81 Ma, while fire-stimulated germination arose in the African Restionaceae at least 70 Ma, implying that wildfires have been a significant force in the evolution of the Cape flora at least 60 My earlier than previous estimates. Our results provide strong evidence for the presence of fire adaptations in the Cape from the Cretaceous, leading to the extraordinary persistence of a fire-adapted flora in this biodiversity hotspot, and giving support to the hypothesis that Cretaceous fire was a global phenomenon that shaped the evolution of terrestrial floras.

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A Cretaceous origin for fire adaptations in the Cape flora

Lamont

Manning

2016

Sci Rep

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“…In the last few years, a number of studies (e.g. Manfroi et al 2015;Muir et al 2015;Abu Hamad et al 2016a, 2016bCarpenter et al 2016;dos Santos et al 2016;El Atfy et al 2016;Martill et al 2012;Lima et al 2019) have already demonstrated that the Cretaceous wildfires were more frequent on the southern continents than previously reported in the literature (e.g. Brown et al 2012).…”

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confidence: 92%

Repeated occurrence of palaeo-wildfires during deposition of the Bahariya Formation (early Cenomanian) of Egypt

et al. 2019

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The Upper Cretaceous (early Cenomanian) Bahariya Formation of Egypt has an outstanding reputation for its wealth of vertebrate remains, including a variety of iconic dinosaurs, like the carnivorous Spinosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus, as well as the herbivorous Aegyptosaurus and Paralititan. Besides these dinosaur fossils, the Bahariya Formation yielded also a wealth of invertebrate and plant remains, but even today many aspects concerning the continental palaeoenvironments reflected in these deposits (including the occurrence of palaeo-wildfires) have not been studied in detail. So far six distinct macro-charcoal bearing levels could be identified within the type section of the Bahariya Formation at Gabal El Dist profile, one of the most prolific outcrops of this formation in terms of fossil occurrence located in the north of the Bahariya Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt. Most of the charcoal investigated by means of SEM originates from ferns, pointing to a considerable proportion of this plant group within the palaeo-ecosystems that experienced fires. Gymnosperms and (putative) angiosperms have less frequently been identified. The collected data present evidence that the landscapes at the northern shores of Gondwana repeatedly experienced palaeo-wildfires, adding extra proof to previous statements that the Late Cretaceous was a fiery world on a global scale.

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“…These sediments are interpreted to be deposited in a fluvial lacustrine environment based on field and sedimentological observations . The age of the Quseir Formation is assigned to early middle Campanian based on palynological and vertebrate data. − Freshwater gastropods, bivalves, brackish water reptiles, crocodyliforms, nonavian dinosaur skeletons, charcoal, and petrified wood are also recorded in the lower part of this formation. ,− The organic-rich mudstones are in the upper part of the Quseir Formation and deposited in lacustrine environments.…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Provenance Characterization of Campanian Lacustrine Organic-Rich Mudstones on the Southern Tethyan Margin, Egypt

Fathy

Wagreich

Ntaflos

et al. 2021

ACS Earth Space Chem.

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Campanian lacustrine organic-rich mudstones were deposited under a warm greenhouse climate in Egypt. In this study, integrated elemental geochemical analyses have been applied to discriminate the paleoweathering conditions, provenance, and tectonic setting of these mudstones. The studied samples are relatively enriched in Al, Ca, V, Sc, and Cr compared to Post-Archean Australian shales (PAAS). Their chondrite normalized REE patterns show enrichment in the light REE compared to heavy REE, with a negative Eu anomaly (Eu/Eu* = ∼0.77). The low values of Th/Sc (0.42), Zr/Sc (5.05), and Zr/Hf (36.3) for the studied samples indicate no input from recycled older sedimentary strata. The ratios of the compositional variability index (ICV = 0.76), K/Al (0.072), Al/Si (0.34), and K/Si (0.025) suppose that the mudstones are compositionally mature source rocks and originated in quiescent and low energy depositional environments. The average values of the chemical index of alteration (CIA = 82), chemical proxy of alteration (CPA = 94), and plagioclase index of alteration (PIA = 87) and ln(Al2O3/Na2O = 3.6) for the studied mudstones imply moderate to intensive chemical weathering. Moreover, the provenance sensitive elemental proxies (e.g., La/Sc, Th/Sc, Th/Cr, Cr/Th) and multiple discrimination diagrams reveal that the mudstones could be derived from intermediate igneous parent rocks. The lacustrine organic-rich sediments were sourced from a Phanerozoic to Proterozoic arc setting based on various tectonic discrimination diagrams.

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The first evidence of paleo-wildfire from the Campanian (Late Cretaceous) of North Africa

Cited by 21 publications

References 19 publications

A Cretaceous origin for fire adaptations in the Cape flora

A Cretaceous origin for fire adaptations in the Cape flora

Repeated occurrence of palaeo-wildfires during deposition of the Bahariya Formation (early Cenomanian) of Egypt

Provenance Characterization of Campanian Lacustrine Organic-Rich Mudstones on the Southern Tethyan Margin, Egypt

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