Age-controlled south polar floral trends show a staggered Early Triassic gymnosperm recovery following the end-Permian event

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorAmores, Marcosen
dc.contributor.authorFrank, Tracy D.en
dc.contributor.authorFielding, Christopher R.en
dc.contributor.authorHren, Michael T.en
dc.contributor.authorMays, Chrisen
dc.contributor.funderResearch Irelanden
dc.contributor.funderNational Science Foundationen
dc.contributor.funderPaleontological Societyen
dc.date.accessioned2025-11-14T15:45:03Z
dc.date.available2025-11-14T15:45:03Z
dc.date.issued2025-03-06en
dc.description.abstractThe end-Permian event (EPE, ca. 252.3–251.9 Ma) led to the generalized collapse of gymnosperm-supported ecosystems. They eventually recovered despite Early Triassic suppression and became globally dominant for most of the Mesozoic. Understanding the sequence and timing of gymnosperm reestablishment at different latitudes is therefore key to explaining how they regained their foothold. Given the limited data on polar plant communities, here we present the first high-resolution, age-controlled floristic trends from the high southern latitudes (Sydney Basin, Australia; ~70°S) from the latest Permian to the Middle Triassic. Sedimentological and biostratigraphic data and stable carbon isotope ratios of organic matter were used to establish lithostratigraphic correlations, paleoenvironmental insights, and links to the global chronostratigraphy. Non-metric multidimensional scaling of spore-pollen groupings confirmed that the late Smithian thermal maximum (LSTM, ca. 250.3–249.6 Ma) and the Smithian-Spathian event (SSE, ca. 249.6–249.2 Ma) were the primary drivers of significant Early Triassic ecosystem changes in the Sydney Basin. Following the EPE, ecosystems supported by peltasperm seed ferns were the first to establish, lasting for ~200,000 years. Voltzialean conifers were thereafter dominant for ~1.5 million years until the LSTM. Stress-tolerant cosmopolitan pleuromeian lycophytes then became the predominant flora, lasting ~800,000 years until SSE-associated cooling allowed umkomasialean seed ferns to expand, which persisted and ultimately characterized Middle-to-Late Triassic high-latitude Gondwanan ecosystems. Global comparisons showed that pleuromeians surged under extreme post-EPE conditions, but their rise was delayed by ~1.7 million years in the polar south. Our findings support the hypothesis that the post-EPE interval was a staggered process rather than one of monotonic recovery, with gymnosperm and lycophyte floral communities waxing and waning in succession until the early Middle Triassic.en
dc.description.sponsorshipResearch Ireland (13/ RC/2092_P2; 17/RC-PhD/3481; 22/FFP-P/11448); Paleontological Society (Elvira and Bob Gastaldo Deciphering Earth History Award in Applied Paleo-botany); National Science Foundation (grant EAR-1636625)en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionAccepted Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationAmores, M., Frank, T. D., Fielding, C. R., Hren, M. T. and Mays, C. 'Age-controlled south polar floral trends show a staggered Early Triassic gymnosperm recovery following the end-Permian event', GSA Bulletin, 137(7-8), pp. 3255–3282. https://doi.org/10.1130/B38017.1en
dc.identifier.doi10.1130/b38017.1en
dc.identifier.eissn1943-2674en
dc.identifier.endpage3282en
dc.identifier.issn0016-7606en
dc.identifier.issued7-8en
dc.identifier.journaltitleGSA Bulletinen
dc.identifier.startpage3255en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/18209
dc.identifier.volume137en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherGeological Society of Americaen
dc.relation.ispartofGeological Society of America Bulletinen
dc.relation.project22/FFP-P/11448en
dc.rights© 2025, Geological Society of America.en
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.subjectGymnospermen
dc.subjectPermianen
dc.subjectEarly Triassicen
dc.subjectPolar southen
dc.titleAge-controlled south polar floral trends show a staggered Early Triassic gymnosperm recovery following the end-Permian eventen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
dc.typejournal-articleen
oaire.citation.issue7-8en
oaire.citation.volume137en
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Amores et al (2025) - Age-controlled Early Triassic south polar floral trends.pdf
Size:
3.33 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Accepted Version
Download
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Amores et al (2025) - Age-controlled Early Triassic south polar floral trends.docx
Size:
27.53 MB
Format:
Microsoft Word XML
Description:
Authors' original accepted version
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
2.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences - Journal Articles