Reconstruction of atmospheric CO2 during the Oligocene based on leaf fossils from the Ningming Formation in Guangxi, China

Sun, Bainian; Wang, Qiujun; Konrad, Wilfried; Ma, Feifei; Jia, Dong; Wang, Zixi

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.09.015

Cited by 14 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…These models infer palaeo-CO 2 levels from photosynthetic gas exchange and/or water availability measurements (Wynn, 2003;Konrad et al, 2008;Franks et al, 2014). More recently, both empirical stomata-based proxies and mechanistic models have been applied to the same fossil leaves; these studies have shown that these two methods provide comparable estimates of palaeo-CO 2 concentrations (Barclay and Wing, 2016;Montañez et al, 2016;Sun et al, 2017). Since empirical stomata methods are simpler than mechanistic models, because they only require SD or SI measurements from fossil leaves, they remain the most widely used proxy for palaeo-CO 2 levels (McElwain and Steinthorsdottir, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stomatal frequency of Quercus glauca from three material sources shows the same inverse response to atmospheric pCO2

Xing

et al. 2019

Annals of Botany

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Background and AimsThe inverse correlation between atmospheric CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) and stomatal frequency in many plants has been widely used to estimate palaeo-CO2 levels. However, apparent discrepancies exist among the obtained estimates. This study attempts to find a potential proxy for palaeo-CO2 concentrations by analysing the stomatal frequency of Quercus glauca (section Cyclobalanopsis, Fagaceae), a dominant species in East Asian sub-tropical forests with abundant fossil relatives.MethodsStomatal frequencies of Q. glauca from three material sources were analysed: seedlings grown in four climatic chambers with elevated CO2 ranging from 400 to 1300 ppm; extant samples collected from 14 field sites at altitudes ranging from 142 to 1555 m; and 18 herbarium specimens collected between 1930 and 2011. Stomatal frequency–pCO2 correlations were determined using samples from these three sources.Key ResultsAn inverse correlation between stomatal frequency and pCO2 was found for Q. glauca through cross-validation of the three material sources. The combined calibration curves integrating data of extant altitudinal samples and historical herbarium specimens improved the reliability and accuracy of the curves. However, materials in the climatic chambers exhibited a weak response and relatively high stomatal frequency possibly due to insufficient treatment time.ConclusionsA new inverse stomatal frequency–pCO2 correlation for Q. glauca was determined using samples from three sources. These three material types show the same response, indicating that Q. glauca is sensitive to atmospheric pCO2 and is an ideal proxy for palaeo-CO2 levels. Quercus glauca is a nearest living relative (NLR) of section Cyclobalanopsis fossils, which are widely distributed in the strata of East Asia ranging from the Eocene to Pliocene, thereby providing excellent materials to reconstruct the atmospheric CO2 concentration history of the Cenozoic. Quercus glauca will add to the variety of proxies that can be widely used in addition to Ginkgo and Metasequoia.

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