Oscillations of a fluvial‐lacustrine system and its ecological response prior to the <scp>end‐Triassic</scp>: Evidence from the eastern Tethys region

Liu, Ning; Wang, Yongdong; Xu, Yichen; Li, Liqin; Xie, Xiaoping; Popa, Mihai Emilian; Chen, Hongyu; Ruhl, Micha; Kürschner, Wolfram M.

doi:10.1002/gj.4658

Cited by 3 publications

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Intensified continental weathering and reductive surface runoff during the Triassic–Jurassic transition

Wan,

Yuan,

Liu

et al. 2024

Geology

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The end-Triassic mass extinction (ETE) is characterized by profound declines in biodiversity in both marine and terrestrial ecosystems, widely accepted to have been triggered by the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP). In response to the CAMP, global continental weathering intensity and terrestrial redox conditions at the extinction interval may have substantially changed, but these are not fully constrained yet. Here we report high-resolution Fe (δ56Fe) and Zn (δ66Zn) isotope data on sedimentary successions of terrestrial open systems across high-latitude and low- to middle-latitude continental Triassic−Jurassic transition (TJT) sections. Both sections recorded a positive δ56Fe excursion and an increase in chemical index of alteration along with fluctuating δ66Zn values during the ETE−TJT period, indicating enhanced continental weathering. The notable increase of δ56Fe with lower total Fe2O3 contents suggests a reductive continental weathering condition considering that Fe isotope fractionation during silicate weathering requires loss of fluid-mobile, reduced Fe(II). Notably, the positive δ56Fe excursion was concurrent with and proportional to the increasing concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from wildfires in corresponding coal layers, implying that the surface runoff during intensified weathering may have been reduced by biochar from CAMP-triggered wildfires. The reductive terrestrial runoff might have influenced the surface ocean across the TJT to some extent.

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Intensified continental weathering and reductive surface runoff during the Triassic–Jurassic transition

Wan,

Yuan,

Liu

et al. 2024

Geology

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A new Rhaetian plant assemblage from Zilanba, the northern Sichuan Basin, South China

Popa

McLoughlin

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Triassic-Jurassic strata are extensively developed and widely distributed in the Sichuan Basin, South China. In particular, the continental Upper Triassic Xujiahe Formation is well-exposed in this region, yielding rich assemblages of fossil plants. Here, a new fossil assemblage is reported from Zilanba in the Guangyuan area, northern Sichuan Basin. This locality yields 31 species of fossil plants belonging to 18 genera, newly collected from ‘member Ⅲ’ of the Xujiahe Formation. Based on the floral assemblages and previous magnetostratigraphic and palynostratigraphic studies, the host strata are considered lower Rhaetian in age. The early Rhaetian flora in the Guangyuan area is dominated by Cycadales and Bennettitales but also contains abundant ferns and low proportions of various sphenopsids, conifers and other gymnosperms. The occurrence of some climate-diagnostic plants, such as Dipteridaceae, Anthrophyopsis and Ptilozamites, indicate that this area experienced a humid and warm tropical or subtropical climate during the early Rhaetian.

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Plant-insect interactions across the Triassic–Jurassic boundary in the Sichuan Basin, South China

Xu,

Wang,

et al. 2024

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Plants and insects are the most diverse and ecologically important organisms in the terrestrial biosphere. Their interactions are also among the richest biotic relationships, and offer significant insights into the evolution of terrestrial ecosystem complexity through the geological record. This investigation of the late Rhaetian Xujiahe and the earliest Jurassic Zhenzhuchong floral assemblages provides the first data on foliar herbivory generated by terrestrial arthropods across the Triassic–Jurassic transition in the eastern Tethys (East Asia) region. The damage types from two fossil assemblages are collectively attributed to seven functional feeding and egg-laying categories (i.e., hole feeding, margin feeding, surface feeding, skeletonization, piercing and sucking, oviposition, and galling). Most feeding strategies are spread across the major plant groups and persist through the Triassic–Jurassic boundary, with the exception of skeletonization (a category of external foliage feeding), which was restricted to the latest Triassic within dipteridacean ferns. The survey reveals that the respective frequency and diversity of interactions between plants and insects prior to and following the end-Triassic mass extinction event are almost the same, despite a substantial turnover of floral components. This suggest that insect herbivores were largely able to transfer to alternative (but commonly related) plant groups during the dramatic floristic turnover and environmental changes at the end of the Triassic. Sporadic occurrences of foliar modifications, such as marginal cusps on pinnules of Pterophyllum and prominent ridges on the rachises of some ferns and bennettites are interpreted as adaptations for defense against insect herbivores. A few differences in taxonomic composition and herbivory representation between the latest Triassic Xujiahe flora and the earliest Jurassic Zhenzhuchong flora are more likely to be related to collection and preservational biases rather than reflecting palaeoecological changes. We encourage further investigations exploring the distribution of insect damage in fossil floras from other palaeolatitudinal zones and spanning other major extinction events to develop a better understanding of terrestrial ecosystem responses to major crises in Earth’s history.

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Oscillations of a fluvial‐lacustrine system and its ecological response prior to the end‐Triassic: Evidence from the eastern Tethys region

Abstract: The end-Triassic mass extinction is considered as one of the "Big Five" extinction events in the Phanerozoic. However, whether the terrestrial ecosystem began to deteriorate or even collapse prior

Cited by 3 publications

References 68 publications

Intensified continental weathering and reductive surface runoff during the Triassic–Jurassic transition

Intensified continental weathering and reductive surface runoff during the Triassic–Jurassic transition

A new Rhaetian plant assemblage from Zilanba, the northern Sichuan Basin, South China

Plant-insect interactions across the Triassic–Jurassic boundary in the Sichuan Basin, South China

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