Eocene–Miocene carbon-isotope and floral record from brown coal seams in the Gippsland Basin of southeast Australia

Miocene depositional environment and climate in western Europe: The lignite deposits of the Lower Rhine Basin, Germany

“…The overall carbon isotope signature of lignite points towards an angiosperm taxa dominated floral assemblage. This interpretation, primarily based on fossil wood data (Lücke et al, 1999), is corroborated by Holdgate et al (2009) who found an overall positive correlation between lignite carbon isotope composition and %gym-nosperm pollen in a study of Australian Middle Eocene to Early Miocene coal seams. Earlier studies have not reported evidence for larger post-depositional changes of the isotopic composition of the original peat (Bechtel et al, 2007a,b;Lücke et al, 1999).…”

NothofagussubgenusBrassospora(Nothofagaceae) leaf fossils from New Zealand: a link to Australia and New Guinea?

“…The discovery of abundant Nothofagus subgenus Brassospora leaves in southern New Zealand supports the fossil pollen record by confirming that at least one species of the subgenus grew in the region in the Oligo–Miocene at ∼46°S (Lee et al ., ), and strongly suggests that this species was a common component of highly diverse vegetation that was formed within a lowland, ombrotrophic, probably acidic mire (see Lee et al ., , ; Carpenter et al ., , b, , ; Ferguson et al ., ; Jordan et al ., , ; Carpenter, ). Pollen evidence implies that some past Brassospora species in Australia were likely to have occupied similar habitats during the Oligo–Miocene, especially in the coal‐forming swamps of the Latrobe Valley, Victoria (Holdgate et al ., ). In contrast, there have been no suggestions that any of the previously described Brassospora macrofossils from Australia were derived from swamp vegetation (Hill, , ; Paull & Hill, ).…”

Distribution and carbon isotope patterns of diterpenoids and triterpenoids in modern temperate C3 trees and their geochemical significance

“…By studying terpenoids, it is possible to track d 13 C values of gymnosperms and angiosperms independently, lending insight to how these plant groups responded to past climatic change and how their distribution influenced temporal and spatial changes in d 13 C TOC (e.g., Holdgate et al, 2009). Carbon isotope signals from angiosperms and gymnosperms in ancient ecosystems are also important for understanding physiological responses to warm and high-CO 2 climates, which will be important for anticipating the results of increasing anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (e.g., Tylianakis et al, 2008).…”

“…Such insights are important when resolving the influence of mixed or changing floral inputs on the d 13 C values of terrestrial organic matter (d 13 C TOC ) (Bechtel et al, 2003;Holdgate et al, 2009;Widodo et al, 2009) and d 13 C values of n-alkanes (Smith et al, 2007). Gymnosperm leaves, resins, wood, litter and leaf waxes are generally $2-3& enriched in 13 C relative to those from angiosperms at similar sites (Brooks et al, 1997;Murray et al, 1998;Arens et al, 2000;Pataki et al, 2003;Diefendorf et al, 2010Diefendorf et al, , 2011.…”