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Late Cretaceous-Cenozoic history of deciduousness and the terminal Cretaceous event

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2016

Jack A. Wolfe
Jack A. Wolfe*
Affiliation:
Paleontology and Stratigraphy Branch, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado 80225
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Abstract

Deciduousness in mesic, broad-leaved plants occurred in disturbed, middle-latitude environments during the Late Cretaceous. Only in polar environments in the Late Cretaceous was the deciduous element dominant, although of low diversity. The terminal Cretaceous event resulted in wide-spread selection for plants of deciduous habit and diversification of deciduous taxa, thus leaving a lasting imprint on Northern Hemisphere vegetation. Various environmental factors have played important roles in subsequent diversification of mesic, broad-leaved deciduous taxa and in origination and decline of broad-leaved deciduous forests. Low diversity and rarity of mesic deciduous plants in the post-Cretaceous of the Southern Hemisphere indicate that the inferred “impact winter” of the terminal Cretaceous event had little effect on Southern Hemisphere vegetation and climate.

Type
Articles
Information
Paleobiology , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , Spring 1987 , pp. 215 - 226
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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References

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