Earliest Jurassic plant assemblages from Sweden reveal a low-diversity ginkgoalean and cheirolepid flora dominating the post-extinction landscape Number of Authors: 42026 (English)In: Annals of Botany, ISSN 0305-7364, E-ISSN 1095-8290, Vol. 137, no 6, p. 1797-1816Article in journal (Refereed) Published

Abstract [en]

• Background and Aims  Rich Triassic–Jurassic plant assemblages from Skåne, southern Sweden, have been documented extensively over the past two centuries. However, no macrofloras from the lowermost part of the Helsingborg Member (Lower Jurassic) have been forthcoming and thus the age of the successions has not been well constrained. Here we systematically describe and assess the palaeoecology and age of a newly discovered flora from the Boserup beds at Norra Albert Quarry, Skåne.
• Methods  Plant macrofossils were examined using macrophotography, fluorescence microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Palynological analysis of the strata hosting the macroflora contributed to the palaeoenvironmental interpretations and refined the age of the deposits.
• Results  The low-diversity post-extinction recovery forests of the earliest Jurassic were dominated by ginkgoopsids, cheirolepid conifers and ferns, growing under seasonal mesothermal conditions. Dispersed charcoal indicates wildfires were present in the landscape at this time.
• Conclusions  Despite the poor preservation of the fossils, the Boserup beds flora provides a window into vegetation recovery in the immediate aftermath of the end-Triassic extinction event. Initial recovery is characterized by the presence of needle- and scale-leafed seed plants (notably czekanowskialeans and Brachyphyllum species that produced Classopollis pollen), along with a range of ground ferns.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages

2026. Vol. 137, no 6, p. 1797-1816

Keywords [en]

Palaeoecology, Boserup beds, North Atlantic floral province, mass extinction, Ginkgoopsida, Cheirolepidiaceae, Osmundaceae, Equisetales

National Category

Palaeontology and Palaeoecology

Identifiers

URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-249335DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcaf143ISI: 001552621400001PubMedID: 40632901Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105042149342OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-249335DiVA, id: diva2:2013070

Available from: 2025-11-11 Created: 2025-11-11 Last updated: 2026-07-03Bibliographically approved

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Quiroz-Cabascango, Daniela

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Quiroz-Cabascango, Daniela

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Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences

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