The Vegetation of Antarctica through Geological Time

The Fossil History Of Plant Life In Antarctica Is Central To Our Understanding Of The Evolution Of Vegetation Through Geological Time And Also Plays A Key Role In Reconstructing Past Configurations Of The Continents And Associated Climatic Conditions. This Book Provides The Only Detailed Overview Of The Development Of Antarctic Vegetation From The Devonian Period To The Present Day, Presenting Earth Scientists With Valuable Insights Into The Break Up Of The Ancient Supercontinent Of Gondwana. Details Of Specific Floras And Ecosystems Are Provided Within The Context Of Changing Geological, Geographical And Environmental Conditions, Alongside Comparisons With Contemporaneous And Modern Ecosystems. The Authors Demonstrate How Palaeobotany Contributes To Our Understanding Of The Palaeoenvironmental Changes In The Southern Hemisphere During This Period Of Earth History. The Book Is A Complete And Up-to-date Reference For Researchers And Students In Antarctic Palaeobotany And Terrestrial Palaeoecology-- Throughout The Devonian A Remarkable Transformation Of The Land Was Under Way. The Vegetation Which Had Comprised Small, Probably Streamside Plants Only A Few Centimetres High In The Earliest Devonian Changed Dramatically. The Evolution Of Secondary Growth (wood) Paved The Way For An Increase In Stature And The Origin Of The Tree Habit (such As That Exhibited By The Progymnosperm, Archaeopteris). By The Late Devonian Forests Were Growing Across The Landscape Creating New Niches For Understory Plants, Resulting In An Increase In Diversity Within Terrestrial Ecosystems. This Transformation Paved The Way For Animal Groups To Follow The Plants On To Land And Begin To Colonise The New Niches Created By The Plants-- Machine Generated Contents Note: 1. Introduction; 2. Colonization Of The Land; 3. Deglaciation And Colonization Of The South Pole; 4. Mass Extinction And Life In The Triassic; 5. Continental Break Up And Its Impact On Jurassic Vegetation; 6. Fern-conifer Dominated Lower Cretaceous (aptian-albian) Ecosystems And The Angiosperm Invasion; 7. The Origin Of Southern Temperate Ecosystems; 8. The Heat Is On: Paleogene Floras And The Paleocene-eocene Warm Period; 9. After The Heat: Late Eocene To Pliocene Climatic Cooling And Modification Of The Antarctic Vegetation; Index. David J. Cantrill, Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, Imogen Poole, Utrecht Universiteit, The Netherlands. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Frontmatter 1 Contents 7 Acknowledgements 8 Historical_background_and_geological_framework 9 Early_to_middle_Paleozoic_climates_and_colonisation_of_the_land 34 Collapsing_ice_sheets_and_evolving_polar_forests_of_the_middle_to_late_Paleozoic 65 Icehouse_to_hothouse_floral_turnover_the_PermianTriassic_crisis_and_Triassic_vegetation 113 Gondwana_break-up_and_landscape_change_across_the_TriassicJurassic_transition_and_beyond 169 Fern-conifer_dominated_Early_Cretaceous_AptianAlbian_ecosystems_and_the_angiosperm_invasion 197 The_origin_of_southern_temperate_ecosystems 257 The_heat_is_on_Paleogene_floras_and_the_PaleoceneEocene_warm_period 316 After_the_heat_late_Eocene_to_Pliocene_climatic_cooling_and_modification_of_the_Antarctic_vegetation 398 Appendix 466 Index 474