Monsoonal climate of East Asia in Eocene times inferred from an analysis of plant functional types

Li, Qijia; Utescher, Torsten; Liu, Yusheng; Ferguson, David K.; Jia, Hui; Quan, Cheng

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2022.111138

Cited by 12 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…The deep-sea sediments recorded the Asian monsoon climate evolution over the past ~50 Myrs, particularly in south, southeast and east Asian marginal seas (Figure 1, Figure 8), although the origin and the evolution of Asian monsoons are still subjects of heated debate. 9,148,150,163,171,212,[266][267][268][269][270] The tropical monsoon such as Indian monsoon which is inevitably impacted by the land-sea contrast and locations of the tropical convergence zone; 271,272 whereas the East Asia monsoon has been forced by both low-and high latitude processes and the giant high-relief topography, i.e., the Hiamalya-Tibetan Plateau. 35,[44][45][46] Therefore, debates will likely continue due to complicated forcing mechanisms of the monsoons.…”

Section: Sea and Deep-sea Sedimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formation and evolution of the Asian landscape during the Cenozoic

Lu,

Feng,

Lyu

et al. 2023

TIG

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<p>Asia has a unique set of landscapes, notably characterized by the highest plateau in the world, the strongest monsoon circulation, and an immense arid region. When and how this landscape was formed have long been investigated, but explanations remain elusive. In this paper, through a synthesis of both terrestrial and marginal marine sedimentary records and numerical simulation analyses, we propose that tectonic uplift/deformation and global cooling during the Cenozoic have controlled the evolution of Asian topography and climate, respectively, and, the Asian landscape. The Asian landscape has undergone three main stages of evolution, <i>viz</i>: development of low-relief topography and warm-dry climate during the Eocene (~50-34 Ma); emergence of high relief topography in the southwest, along with a diverse range of landforms elsewhere, associated with a warm monsoon-arid climate coupling system during the Oligocene to early Pliocene (34-3.0 Ma); and development of the typical Asian summer and winter monsoon circulation and present landscape since the late Pliocene, accompanied by significant global cooling. Our analyses reveal that the distribution of river catchments, flora, fauna and soils are controlled by tectonic uplift/deformation and palaeoclimate changes. Stepwise evolution of the Asian landscape since ~50 Ma was driven by tectonic deformation and global temperature changes, each of which may play different role(s) in landscape evolution. For instance, the India-Asia collision played a vital role in the formation of the Asian topographic configuration in the middle Eocene, which generated regional atmospheric circulation. On the other hand, global cooling during the late Pliocene played an important role in generating the modern-like Asian landscape including the rapid accumulation of loess deposits, strengthening of the Asian monsoon circulation, and the evolution of modern topography. To summarize, we broadly propose a three-stage history of landscape evolution in Asia during the Cenozoic. The detailed processes of Asian landscape evolution and the specific roles of tectonism and global temperature in controlling Asian landscapes and palaeoclimate evolution need to be further investigated.</p>

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Section: Sea and Deep-sea Sedimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formation and evolution of the Asian landscape during the Cenozoic

Lu,

Feng,

Lyu

et al. 2023

TIG

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“…Previous paleoclimatic reconstruction for the locality where the Cycas fossil was found suggests a significant variation in precipitation between the wet and dry seasons for ancient habitats of Cycas (Quan et al, 2012). Therefore, the strong seasonality in precipitation, resulting from an intensified monsoonal climate since the Eocene epoch that was widespread in numerous regions of east and northeast Asia (Li et al, 2022; Bondarenko and Utescher, 2023), may serve as a representative ancestral climate for Cycas . Our analyses also implied a strong tendency of Cycas to remain in its ancestral climatic niche (Figures 6B, S27B), thus providing empirical evidence for the niche conservatism hypothesis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This i‐LDG pattern is remarkable, given fossils assigned to the genus Cycas are all found in east and northeast Asia's temperate regions since the Eocene, when the climate conditions in these regions were suitable for the survival of ancient Cycas (Yokoyama, 1911; Krassilov, 1978; Zachos et al, 2008; Su et al, 2014). Recent reconstruction of paleoclimate and vegetation of northeastern China's Fushun Eocene flora, which contains one well‐defined and anatomically preserved Cycas leaf fossil ( Cycas fushunensi s, Fushun, Liaoning Province, northeast China) (Su et al, 2014), indicates that this ancestral Cycas inhabited a broadleaved evergreen cool temperate shrub habitat, which was dominated by the monsoon climate with an intensified seasonal differentiation of precipitation (Quan et al, 2012; Li et al, 2022). The temperate climate for this ancestral Cycas species and the low extant richness of this genus toward the equator justify a test of the ancestral niche conservatism effect (Wiens and Graham, 2005), which has been used for explaining the current i‐LDG pattern in some studies (Pyron and Burbrink, 2009; Morinière et al, 2016; Morales‐Castilla et al, 2020; Yang et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eco‐evolutionary evidence for the global diversity pattern of Cycas (Cycadaceae)

Liu,

Lindstrom,

Gong

et al. 2024

JIPB

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The evolution of the latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG), characterized by a peak in diversity toward the tropics, has captured significant attention in evolutionary biology and ecology. However, the inverse LDG (i‐LDG) mechanism, wherein species richness increases toward the poles, remains inadequately explored. Cycads are among one of the oldest lineages of extant seed plants and have undergone extensive diversification in the tropics. Intriguingly, the extant cycad abundance exhibits an i‐LDG pattern, and the underlying causes for this phenomenon remain largely elusive. Here, using 1,843 nuclear genes from a nearly complete sampling, we conducted comprehensive phylogenomic analyses to establish a robust species‐level phylogeny for Cycas, the largest genus within cycads. We then reconstructed the spatial‐temporal dynamics and integrated global environmental data to evaluate the roles of species ages, diversification rates, contemporary environment, and conservatism to ancestral niches in shaping the i‐LDG pattern. We found Cycas experienced decreased diversification rates, coupled with the cooling temperature since its origin in the Eocene from continental Asia. Different regions have distinctively contributed to the formation of i‐LDG for Cycas, with the northern hemisphere acting as evolutionary museums and the southern hemisphere serving as cradles. Moreover, water‐related climate variables, specifically precipitation seasonality and potential evapotranspiration, were identified as paramount factors constraining Cycas species richness in the rainforest biome near the equator. Notably, the adherence to ancestral monsoonal climates emerges as a critical factor in sustaining the diversity pattern. This study underscores the imperative of integrating both evolutionary and ecological approaches to comprehensively unravel the mechanisms underpinning global biodiversity patterns.

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Early Paleogene precipitation patterns over East Asia: Was there a monsoon after all?

Bondarenko,

Utescher

2023

Palaeobio Palaeoenv

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Early Paleogene latitudinal precipitation gradients and patterns along the Pacific coast of Eurasia are studied in time and space using the Coexistence Approach, for the first time applied on an extensive regional palaeobotanical record. The palaeobotanical data used in this reconstruction are compiled from literature resources on 110 reasonably well-dated floras, including terrestrial deposits of 73 sites located in the Far East of Russia, Eastern Siberia, China, and Japan, and covering the early Palaeocene to early Eocene. Our reconstructions of precipitation for the Pacific side of Eurasia in the early Paleogene demonstrate a clear division (especially pronounced in the early Eocene) into two zones at ca. 50° N palaeolatitude on all precipitation parameters. Our results reveal very weak latitudinal precipitation gradients during the early and late Palaeocene. In the early Eocene, the gradient became more clearly pronounced, and a larger “arid” zone can be distinguished in the mid-latitudes. Our data suggest that in the early Paleogene, the global atmospheric circulation consisted of two well-defined cells, Hadley and Ferrell, while the polar cell was either absent or located over the Arctic Ocean and was very weak. Based on our reconstructions, the records could not be interpreted in terms of a monsoonal type of climate. The regional distribution of hygrophilous and xerophilous taxa in our early Eocene record largely coincides with the reconstructed precipitation pattern and generally corresponds to the distribution of coals and/or oil shales and red beds and/or evaporites, respectively.

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Monsoonal climate of East Asia in Eocene times inferred from an analysis of plant functional types

Cited by 12 publications

References 63 publications

Formation and evolution of the Asian landscape during the Cenozoic

Formation and evolution of the Asian landscape during the Cenozoic

Eco‐evolutionary evidence for the global diversity pattern of Cycas (Cycadaceae)

Early Paleogene precipitation patterns over East Asia: Was there a monsoon after all?

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