Based on a new cored succession at Winterswijk, evidence is uncovered of the end-Triassic mass-extinction (ETME) event in a subsurface sedimentary succession of the Netherlands. The ETME was one of the most devastating events for the biosphere during the Phanerozoic era. Massive volcanism from the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province initiated the breakup of the supercontinent Pangea and resulted in terrestrial and marine extinction pulses, which drastically altered the course of life on Earth. The newly cored material reveals a sedimentary succession representing a shallow marine setting dominated by laminated black shale and claystone deposits. A high-resolution palynostratigraphic dataset provides evidence for a late Rhaetian vegetation assemblage that displays a stepwise decline of arborescent tree vegetation that is transiently replaced by a community of ferns and fern allies. Geochemical records link this major disturbance in palynofloral biodiversity to a pulse of volcanic activity as evidenced by a negative excursion in stable organic carbon isotopes. Shifts towards drier climate conditions, as inferred from sedimentary elemental composition, suggest continental aridification strongly influenced the terrestrial realm following volcanic pulses. Presence of reworked material suggests unstable soils that were affected by increased erosion rates, inhibiting the re-establishment of conifer tree vegetation. Comparison of our findings with other contemporaneous European Triassic-Jurassic boundary sections confirms the progression of the end-Triassic extinction, which exhibits a two-phased structure. The presence of the ETME in the subsurface of the Netherlands provides further evidence towards our understanding of terrestrial extinction with emphasis on the decline of vegetation.

A pollen record from Lago Condorito (41°45′S, 73°07′W) shows that North Patagonian Rain Forest taxa predominated between about 13,000 and 12,200 14C yr B.P. in the lowlands of southern Chile, near the city of Puerto Montt. This was followed by the expansion and persistence of the conifer Podocarpus nubigena between 12,200 and 9900 14C yr B.P. Trees favored by disturbance expanded between 11,200 and 9900 14C yr B.P., concurrent with sharp and sustained increases of microscopic charcoal particles. Taxa of low-elevation rain forests expanded and became more diverse in pulses centered at 9900 and 9000 14C yr B.P., following the disappearance of P. nubigena. These data suggest conditions approaching modern climate between about 13,000 and 12,200 14C yr B.P. The climate cooled between 12,200 and 9900 14C yr B.P., then quickly warmed to interglacial conditions. Stand-replacing fires occurred near Lago Condorito between 11,200 and 9900 14C yr B.P., under cool-temperate, humid conditions. The proximity and reported antiquity of the Monte Verde archeological site raise the possibility that these fires were set by human activities.