Modern vegetation proxies reflect Palaeogene and Neogene vegetation evolution and climate change in Europe, Turkey, and Armenia

Abstract

Recently two tools, Drudge 1 and 2, were introduced to more easily assess modern vegetation proxies for the fossil record. They are based on three similarities: the Integrated Plant Record (IPR) Similarity assessing the similarity between fossil assemblages and modern vegetation based on the proportion of major zonal angiosperm components; the Taxonomic Similarity (TS) reflecting the similarity based on the coincidence of genera among the fossil record and modern vegetation; and the combination of both similarities (Results Mix). In this paper, we apply Drudge 1 and 2 to 54 fossil plant assemblages from Europe, Turkey, and Armenia covering the time span from the early Eocene to the Pleistocene. For every fossil plant assemblage, a set of 25 proxies (modern vegetation units) is derived by the Drudges, reflecting its physiognomy and floristic composition. The results for all fossil plant assemblages feature the overall vegetation evolution and climate change in Europe, Turkey, and Armenia providing deeper insight into the relationships of the fossil record to the modern Asian and European vegetation. This study strives to provide an improved understanding of the Palaeogene/Neogene vegetation evolution in Europe and Asia beyond the community of specialists. Our results can help model future scenarios. They also improve our understanding of how climate change may affect vegetation and more broadly ecosystems as a whole.

Flora, vegetation and climate assessment of the Early/Middle Miocene Parschlug flora indicates a distinctly seasonal climate

“…Based on that enriched floristic spectrum, IPR vegetation analysis, to determine the most likely major vegetation type, and similarity approaches (tools Drudge 1 and 2), to determine the most similar modern vegetation, were applied again. The new results from both methods confirm those presented by Kovar-Eder and Teodoridis (2018), Teodoridis et al (2020) and Kovar-Eder et al (2021) indicating the robustness of the results. Based on the high abundance of evergreen, sclerophyllous and small-leaved taxa, i.e., broad-leaved evergreen (BLE) and sclerophyllous and legume-like (SCL + LEG) components, the most likely major vegetation type is "subhumid sclerophyllous forest".…”

“…The results of all attempts (variants 1-3 and that previously published - Kovar-Eder et al 2021) are very similar (Text-fig. 1, Tab.…”

“…Table 1 shows the results based on the floristic spectrum published by Kovar-Eder et al (2004) and those derived from the assignment variants 1 to 3 of the updated spectrum from this study. The proportions of the key angiosperm components BLD, BLE, SCL + LEG are fairly similar between variants 1 to 3 (this study) and the values of the variants do not differ considerably from those published by Kovar-Eder and Teodoridis (2018), Teodoridis et al (2020), and Kovar-Eder et al (2021). The proportions of the BLD and BLE components published by Kovar-Eder et al (2008) differ slightly from the other results owing to the later refinement of the components' spectrum of the IPR vegetation analysis by Teodoridis et al (2011a).…”

“…The divergence between IPR Similarity and Taxonomic Similarity (TS), the former pointing towards a European relationship, the latter towards an East Asian link, was first recognised by Teodoridis et al (2020) for Parschlug and later also for other Miocene European floras . This divergence indicates that the European plant record underwent a change in overall leaf physiognomy of woody taxa from the Paleogene to the Neogene resulting in a closer relationship to modern European vegetation than to East Asian vegetation (Kovar-Eder et al 2021). Considering the TS, the continuity of a close relationship with East Asia is likely to be the result of the pauperisation of the European flora due to the climatic oscillations during the Quaternary Ice Age (Kovar-Eder et al 2021)…”

“…This divergence indicates that the European plant record underwent a change in overall leaf physiognomy of woody taxa from the Paleogene to the Neogene resulting in a closer relationship to modern European vegetation than to East Asian vegetation (Kovar-Eder et al 2021). Considering the TS, the continuity of a close relationship with East Asia is likely to be the result of the pauperisation of the European flora due to the climatic oscillations during the Quaternary Ice Age (Kovar-Eder et al 2021)…”